Department for Transport

Taxis: Licensing

Chris Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, with reference to the National Register of Taxi and Private Hire Licence Revocations and Refusals (NR3), which local authorities with large numbers of registered taxi and private hire drivers made the least use of NR3 searches in 2022; and how many NR3 searches and entries were submitted by those authorities in 2022.

Mr Richard Holden: Use of the National Register for Refusals and Revocations (NR3) is recommended in the Department’s Statutory Taxi and Private Hire Vehicle Standards which was published in 2020. The Department is monitoring usage of the NR3 and communicates with local authorities on this matter regularly.Five largest licensing authorities that make infrequent/no use of NR3:Licensing AuthorityDrivers Licensed (31 March 2022)NR3 Searches (Jan-Dec 2022)NR3 Entries (Jan-Dec 2022)Birmingham City Council6,28010Manchester City Council5,78900Sefton Council5,70100Newcastle City Council4,57600Liverpool City Council3,36000 For context, Manchester City Council activated its NR3 account in August 2022 whereas other authorities had activated accounts from the start of the year.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, which (a) regions and (b) constituencies have the highest number of electric vehicle charging ports installed.

Jesse Norman: Information on which constituencies in the UK have the highest number of electric vehicle charging points is not available. Data held by the Department for Transport, on electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, is sourced from those installed or funded under government approved grant schemes from the electric vehicle charging platform, Zap-Map. Data relating to electric vehicle charging devices installed or funded under government approved grant schemes is typically collated at Local Authority level or above. Charging devices not supplied via these schemes or recorded on Zap-Map are not included and the true number of charging devices may be higher than officially recorded in these figures. For each region of the United Kingdom, the below table provides the latest number of;i. publicly available electric vehicle charging devices, as at 1st January 2023, according to Zap-Map;ii. domestic electric vehicle charging devices installed and funded through the Domestic Residential Scheme (DRS) at 1st October 2022;iii. On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) charging devices installed at 1st October 2022 (data only held in financial years);iv. domestic electric vehicle charging devices installed and funded through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) at 1st October 2022 ;v. workplace electric vehicle charging sockets installed and through the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) at 1st October 2022 and;vi. electric vehicle chargepoint grants sockets installed and funded through the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grants (EVCG) at 1st October 2022.ONS LA CodeRegion or Local Authorityi.) Publicii.) DRSiii.) ORCSiv.) EVHSv.) WCSvi.) EVCGK02000001United Kingdom37,05540,3333,281335,19036,317972E12000001North East1,25311,3103613,0961,644N/AE12000002North West2,3161,73919136,0204,131N/AE12000003Yorkshire and the Humber1,9462,9207926,8773,789N/AE12000004East Midlands1,9038,86721327,3733,403N/AE12000005West Midlands2,8253,49462729,7983,710N/AE12000006East of England2,3801,77619037,3524,519N/AE12000007London11,5211,0311,20325,7122,225N/AE12000008South East4,8042,39848062,4655,308N/AE12000009South West2,5181,6523329,5583,272N/AS92000003Scotland3,7581,39910925,2782,212N/AW92000004Wales1,46599112012,5031,376N/AN92000002Northern Ireland3661,43505,794686N/A A geographic breakdown of data from the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grant (EVCG) scheme, below UK level, has not yet been published and so has been excluded from this table. The data across these sources and the columns in the table should not be summed to create a total as the public charging device statistics, the DRS, EVHS and the ORCS statistics count charging devices whereas WCS and EVCG counts charging sockets, making them incompatible to sum together.

Electric Vehicles: Charging Points

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how many electric vehicle charging points were installed in (a) 2010, (b) 2015, (c) 2018, (d) 2019, (e) 2020, (f) 2021 and (g) 2022.

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, if he will make an estimate of the number of electric vehicle charges in operation as of 24 February 2023.

Jesse Norman: Data held by the Department on electric vehicle charging devices in the UK, is sourced from those installed or funded under Government approved grant schemes, operated by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) and from the electric vehicle charging platform Zap-Map. Charging devices not supplied via these schemes or recorded on Zap-Map are not included and the true number of charging devices may be higher than recorded in these figures. The below table provides the data available for (b), (c), (d), (e), (f) and (g):i. the increase in the number of publicly available electric vehicle charging devices in each year requested as at 1st January 2023 according to Zap-Map;ii. the number of domestic electric vehicle charging devices installed in each year requested funded through the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) at 1st October 2022 and;iii. electric vehicle chargepoint grants sockets installed in each year requested funded through the Electric Vehicle Chargepoint Grants (EVCG) at 1st October 2022 and;iv. workplace electric vehicle charging sockets installed in each year requested funded through the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) at 1st October 2022.v. On-Street Residential Chargepoint Scheme (ORCS) charging devices installed in each year requested at 1st October 2022, data only collected in financial years.UK(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)Calendar year201520182019202020212022i.) Public charging devices (see note 1)1,3893,0986,1964,2707,6008,680ii.) EVHS12,44521,61425,99354,197115,79970,682iii.) EVCG sockets Installed-----972iv.) WCS sockets Installed-1,6564,5226,25711,09311,891 Financial year ending201520182019202020212022v.) ORCS-504291,2711,228303Table notes:- indicates data not collected as grant scheme not running in this time period1) Zap-Map data counts charging devices publicly available at any given point, with decommissioned chargepoints removed from the data supplied to us. Therefore, the number of installed public chargepoints in each given year is likely to be higher as this accounts for the number decommissioned and removed from the data. 2) The data across these sources and the columns in the table should not be summed to create a total as the public charging device statistics, EVHS and the ORCS statistics count charging devices whereas WCS and EVCG counts charging sockets, making them incompatible to sum together. As at 1st February 2023 there were 37,625 public charging devices in the UK according to data supplied by Zap-Map. As at 1st October 2022, the most recent public data available, there were 40,333 charging devices installed through Domestic Recharging Scheme (DRS), 335,190 charging devices installed through EVHS and 3,281 charging devices installed through ORCS. There were also 36,317 charging sockets installed through WCS and 972 charging sockets installed through EVCG.

Roads: Safety

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of road safety in England.

Mr Richard Holden: We have some of the safest roads in the world, but we are not complacent. The Government takes road safety very seriously. Reducing the numbers of those needlessly killed and injured on our roads is a key priority for this Department. The Department for Transport is developing the new Road Safety Strategic Framework which will include an implementation plan to improve road safety. We are considering road safety indicators as part of the Road Safety Strategic Framework. It is our intention, subject to wider consultation and agreement, to publish in the spring.

Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Elections: Proof of Identity

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, what discussions the Committee has had with the Commission on the guidance issued to local authorities on requirements to record the (a) number and (b) identity details of people turned away from polling stations for not possessing required identification.

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the hon. Member for Lancaster and Fleetwood, representing the Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission, whether the Committee has had discussions with the Electoral Commission on guidance to be issued during the training of polling station staff on dealing with voters who do not have eligible ID.

Cat Smith: The Speaker’s Committee has not had discussions with the Electoral Commission on the matter referred to.The Electoral Commission has published guidance for Returning Officers on delivering the voter ID requirement, alongside a handbook and quick guide for polling station staff. These provide staff with support and guidance to implement the legislation on polling day and manage any issues which arise, including where a voter does not have an accepted form of ID.Legislation requires polling station staff to collect data on the number of voters not issued with a ballot paper, whether because they have produced ID which is not on the list of accepted documents or have not produced any ID at all. This data will be anonymised and then provided to the Government and the Commission after polling day.The Commission will report on how the May 2023 elections were delivered, including how voters found taking part, and what lessons can be learned for the future.

Department of Health and Social Care

Department of Health and Social Care: Written Questions

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when his Department will respond to Question 137846 tabled on 1 February 2023 by the hon. Member for Ilford North.

Will Quince: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Dental Services: Finance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much and what proportion of the dentistry budget his Department expects to be spent in 2023.

Neil O'Brien: The Department of Health and Social Care has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Surgery: Equality

Mr Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential impact of longer waiting times for elective surgery on health inequalities.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of waiting times for elective surgery on health inequalities.

Will Quince: No specific assessment has been made. However, NHS England in its ‘Delivery plan for tackling the COVID-19 backlog of elective care’, published in February 2022, set out the principles to minimise the impact of waiting long periods of time for treatment on patients, public, National Health Service staff and health inequalities. This includes a focus on equity of access, experience and outcomes for the most deprived.The plan also committed to developing a Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Dashboard, which measures, monitors, and informs actionable insight to make improvements to narrow health inequalities. The dashboard is available at the following link:https://www.england.nhs.uk/about/equality/equality-hub/national-healthcare-inequalities-improvement-programme/data-and-insight/hi-improvement-dashboard/

Department of Health and Social Care: Aviation

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will publish the (a) number and (b) destinations of all domestic flights taken by officials in his Department in each of the last 5 years.

Will Quince: The following table shows expenditure on commercial flights taken by Departmental officials in each of the last five years, along with the destinations. The number of flights relate to the whole trip and in some cases covers several stages.DestinationNumber of flights in 2022Number of flights in 2021Number of flights in 2020Number of flights in 2019Number of flights in 2018Belfast152132017Birmingham2Bristol21  1Cardiff   1 Edinburgh2541418Glasgow258125Guernsey3Leeds 1 12London152083931Manchester  1 1Newcastle 1   Newquay   1 Norwich1Southampton   31Total number in year3835349180We have not provided details of Ministerial spend as this is published quarterly on GOV.UK and available at the following link: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministerial-gifts-hospitality-overseas-travel-and-meetings

Accident and Emergency Departments

Sir George Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of visits to accident and emergency departments were for Type 3 services in (a) England, (b) each NHS England region and (c) each former Clinical Commissioning Group, in each year since 2013.

Will Quince: This information is not collected in the format requested. NHS England’s Weekly and Monthly A&E Attendances and Emergency Admissions collection collects the total number of attendances in the specified period for all accident and emergency types. Data is published down to provider level for each month separately and is not directly available by NHS England region or by former Clinical Commissioning Group area.The following table shows the data for the proportion of visits to Type 3 accident and emergency departments in England in each year since 2013.YearTotal attendancesPercentage of Type 3 Departments - Other accident and emergency / Minor Injury Unit attendances (%)2012/1321,738,63731.562013/1421,778,65731.852014/1522,354,78131.942015/1622,920,43532.092016/1723,362,30132.072017/1823,830,12033.082018/1924,826,98134.522019/2025,017,11634.532020/2117,429,55927.442021/2224,374,96731.89Source: NHS England

Vaccination: Side Effects

Andrew Bridgen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what budget provision his Department has made for costs associated with vaccine harms in the next five years.

Maria Caulfield: The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme amount included in the Annual Report and Accounts, was £9,889,743 as of 31 March 2022. The information can be found in ‘Note 16 Provisions for liabilities and charges’ on page 353. The £9,889,743 is contained in the ‘other’ value of £4,078,443,000. As the amount is not material to the accounts, it was contained in the ‘other’ category with other provisions.

Immunosuppression: Coronavirus

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to individuals at increased risk from covid-19, when the definition of clinically extremely vulnerable was last reviewed.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the proportion of clinically extremely vulnerable individuals who are at increased risk from current strains of coronavirus.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent advice his Department has received from the UK Health Security Agency on risks to clinically extremely vulnerable individuals from current coronavirus strains.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to current strains of covid-19, what recent public health advice he has issued to (a) clinically extremely vulnerable and (b) clinically vulnerable individuals on those strains.

Maria Caulfield: Due to the success of the COVID-19 vaccines most people who were part of the ‘Clinically extremely vulnerable’ (CEV) cohort are no longer at substantially greater risk than the general population and are advised to follow the same guidance as everyone else on staying safe and preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory infections, as well as any further advice received from their healthcare professional. The term ‘Clinically extremely vulnerable’ is therefore no longer used.However, there remains a smaller number of people whose weakened immune system means they may be at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, despite vaccination. The welfare of this group of patients remains a priority and are offered enhanced protections including COVID-19 treatments, booster vaccinations, free lateral flow tests and tailored guidance.In England, over 1.8 million people are eligible for COVID-19 treatments. The Government regularly reviews the guidance available to this group of individuals which was last updated on the 30 January 2023. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) continues to have in place surveillance arrangements that enable the monitoring of any emerging variants and to assess their potential impact, including in relation to severe outcomes. This information is shared between UKHSA, the Department and NHS England.

Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many applications have been made to the vaccine damage payments scheme in respect of covid-19 vaccines as of 23 February 2023; and how many and what proportion of those applications have been (a) successful (b) rejected and (c) unresolved for more than six months.

Maria Caulfield: As of 23 February 2023, the number of applications to the Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme related to COVID-19 vaccines was 3887. Of these, there are 48 awarded claims (1.23%), 890 rejected claims (22.90%), of which 849 were medical rejections and 41 were invalid applications and 1,612 applications that have been unresolved for more than six months (41.47%).The Department continues to work with the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), who manage the scheme’s operations, to provide timely outcomes for claimants. NHSBSA contacts all claimants at key points in the process to provide regular updates on the progress of their claim.

Coronavirus: Vaccination

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2023 to Question 147058 on Coronavirus: Vaccination, whether a full response was made within 56 days of the date of the report; and if he will place a copy of the report and the response in the House of Commons Library.

Maria Caulfield: The Department is finalising its response to the Regulation 28 report as a matter of urgency. It is within the Chief Coroner’s discretion to publish the report, together with the Department’s response.

Hospital Beds: Costs

Liz Kendall: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the unit cost per day for an NHS bed is.

Will Quince: The following table shows the average cost of activity (days) in the National Health Service. This includes elective and non-elective activity and all types of beds, such as high dependency and standard ward beds.Financial YearCount of Activity (Days)CostAverage/Day20/2124,378,064£25,160,402,689.92£1,032.09 The cost per bed day includes diagnosis and treatment costs so will vary depending on the case-mix of activity in any one year. Analysis from 2020/21 shows the cost per day to maintain a patient in an acute clinical setting excluding diagnosis and treatment costs is £344.60.

Surgery: Private Sector

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of operations carried out in private practice for which the NHS paid in each of the last 5 years.

Will Quince: The following table shows a count of procedures carried out by non-National Health Service providers, which were NHS funded, from 2017/18 to 2021/22. NHS providers include charities, local authorities and private providers.YearProcedure Count2017/181,833,6232018/191,854,4892019/201,877,2212020/211,093,8582021/221,891,632Source: Hospital Episode Statistics, NHS England

NHS England: Staff

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the total number of full-time equivalent staff employed by the NHS in England was in (a) 2022 and (b) each of the last 13 years.

Will Quince: The following table shows the number of full-time equivalent (FTE) staff employed directly by NHS England between September 2013 and September 2022. No data is available prior to this due to the date of creation of the body.DateFTE staffSeptember 20135,375September 20145,593September 20154,285September 20164,716September 20175,280September 20185,918September 20197,493September 20207,915September 20219,536September 202211,367Source: NHS Digital, Workforce StatisticsChanges in staffing levels in the table above will partly reflect changes in the structure of bodies providing national leadership for the National Health Service, such as the merger of NHS England and NHS Improvement, which for staffing purposes happened between the 2018 and 2019 data points above.

Health Services: Private Sector

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what guidance his Department has issued to trusts on the promotion of private healthcare to NHS patients.

Will Quince: The Department has not issued any guidance to trusts on the promotion of private healthcare to National Health Service patients.

NHS: Staff

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Answer of 12 March 2018 to Question 131162, on Sexual Offences: Essex, what progress his Department has made since 2018 on establishing a new data collection for violence against and abuse of NHS staff; and if he will he publish that data.

Will Quince: Data on incidents of violence and aggression against National Health Service staff is held at a local level. At a national level, data on self-reported violent incidents is gathered from the NHS Staff Survey and the 2022 Survey results are due to be published in March 2023.NHS England has commissioned a number of data insight workstreams to better understand the current landscape of statistics, data reporting and associated challenges. This includes a national review of all available data and intelligence sources and an analysis of the costs of violence to the health care system in England and a review of the impact on the safety and wellbeing of NHS staff.

Health Services: Foreign Nationals

Aaron Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many foreign nationals received treatment on the NHS via the visitors charging regime in each of the last five years.

Aaron Bell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much foreign nationals paid for the treatment they have received on the NHS via the visitors charging regime in each of the last five years.

Will Quince: We have taken foreign national to mean an overseas visitor. The following table shows that over the last five years the National Health Service has received £150 million from overseas visitors.Year2017/182018/192019/202020/212021/22Cash payments received£30 million£35 million£39 million£21 million£25 millionSource: Consolidated NHS provider accounts

Radiology: Telemedicine

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many and what proportion of, patient scans conducted by NHS England were sent to external teleradiology companies for analysis in each of the last three calendar years; and what the cost to the public purse was of the procurement of those services in each of those years.

Will Quince: The following table shows the total imaging activity in each of the last three calendar years, the total outsourced imaging activity, the percentage of the total imaging activity outsourced to external teleradiology companies for analysis and the total cost of outsourcing. This data has been taken from the NHS England Model Hospital System and is unpublished.Financial yearTotal imaging activityTotal outsourced imaging activityPercentage of total activity outsourcedTotal cost of outsourcing2021/2246,940,8083,465,1087.38%£159,386,1482020/2138,311,9862,498,0086.52%£118,357,4252019/2047,192,0424,531,3989.6%£145,198,848

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust: Finance

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much capital funding has been allocated to Somerset NHS Foundation Trust since 2019.

Will Quince: Somerset NHS Foundation Trust was formed in April 2020 from a merger between Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust. The following table shows what the trust has been allocated with the following capital from national programmes since the 2019/20 financial year.2019/202020/212021/222022/232023/242024/25£120,000£27,200,000£35,900,000£19,400,000£23,400,000£25,500,000Note: These allocations are correct as of 23 February 2023 but future allocations are subject to change. It is also worth noting that these allocations will differ from actual expenditure.In addition to national programmes, Somerset Integrated Care Board, of which Somerset NHS Foundation Trust is a partner trust, was allocated £90 million in operational capital for the SR21 period 2021/22 to 2024/25.Somerset NHS Foundation Trust has been allocated approximately £70 million within their operational capital envelope for the past three financial years, 2020/21 to 2022/23.2020/212021/222022/23£22,300,000£24,500,000£23,600,000

Hormones

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the role of testosterone in maintaining (a) normal metabolic functioning, (b) cognitive functioning, (c) mood, (d) bone and muscle strength, (e) urinary health and (f) reproductive health in women; and whether an assessment has been made of the potential impact of testosterone levels on those factors in (i) menopausal and (ii) post-menopausal women.

Maria Caulfield: No specific assessment has been made. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service.

Medical Equipment: Energy

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has engaged with disabled people on the cost of running medical equipment in the home.

Maria Caulfield: The Secretary of State for Health and Social Care has not engaged with disabled people on this specific issue.However, the Government stands committed to supporting disabled people medically dependent on electrical equipment in the face of rising energy costs. The Cabinet Office’s Disability Unit is seeking to understand and evidence the full impact of the current cost of living on disabled people, across a range of sectors. Moreover, the Government’s cost of living support package includes specific measures aimed at the most vulnerable, with £15 billion worth of support made available to those with the greatest need to date. Since 1 October, the ‘Energy Price Guarantee’ scheme has come into effect, limiting the amount that a typical household in Britain can be charged per unit of gas or electricity to an estimated annual bill of £2500. Furthermore, the Energy Bills Support Scheme deducts £400 from eligible households’ energy bills over winter 2022/2023.

Pregnancy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the age profile was of pregnant women in (a) England and (b) each region of England in the (i) most recent period for which data is available and (ii) (A) five and (B) ten years before the most recent period for which data is available.

Maria Caulfield: The experimental Maternity Services Monthly Statistics Report for booking appointments and births that took place in England in November 2022 was published by NHS Digital on 23 February 2023. In November 2022, the national average age at the time of booking the appointment was 30.The following table shows the age profile of pregnant women in November 2022.Age profileNumber of women20 to 24 years old724525 to 29 years old1553530 to 34 years old1935035 to 39 years old1073040 to 44 years old248545 years old or over245Under 20 years old1825Unknown5 The following table shows the age profile of pregnant women by region in November 2022.RegionAverage ageLondon32South West30South East31Midlands30East of England30North West30North East and Yorkshire29 In November 2017, the national average age at the time of booking the appointment was 29.7 years old.The following table shows the age profile of pregnant women in November 2017.Age profileNumber of women20 to 24 years old842825 to 29 years old1617130 to 34 years old1752235 to 39 years old955240 to 44 years old200945 years old or over182Under 20 years old2105Unknown1 The following table shows the age profile of pregnant women by region in November 2022.RegionAverage ageLondon31.2Midlands and East of England29.3North of England29.1South of England30 This data was not collected 10 years ago.

Pregnancy

Grahame Morris: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what data his Department holds on the body mass index of pregnant women in (a) England and (b) each region of England in the (i) most recent period for which data is available and (ii) (A) five and (B) ten years before the most recent period for which data is available.

Maria Caulfield: The experimental Maternity Services Monthly Statistics Report for booking appointments and births that took place in England in November 2022 was published by NHS Digital on 23 February 2023.The following table shows the body mass index (BMI) of pregnant women in November 2022.BMIPercentage of pregnant womenBMI Normal36.1BM Overweight28BMI Obese21BM Severely Obese3.9BMI Underweight6.9BMI Severely Underweight0.3BMI Not Recorded3.8 The following table shows the percentage of pregnant women with normal BMI by region in November 2022.RegionPercentage of pregnant women with normal BMILondon40.2South West37.9North West36.1East of England36.3Midlands32.5South East38.6North East and Yorkshire31.9 The following table shows the BMI of pregnant women in November 2017.BMIPercentage of pregnant womenBMI Normal40BM Overweight23BMI Obese18BMI Underweight3BMI Not Recorded16 The following table shows the percentage of pregnant women with normal BMI by region in November 2017.RegionPercentage of pregnant women with normal BMILondon49Midlands and East of England36North of England36South of England44 This data was not available ten years ago.

Infectious Diseases: Disease Control

Matt Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to stockpile disease testing for a future pandemic.

Maria Caulfield: The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is applying the learning from the COVID-19 pandemic to increase capability to respond to future threats. The specific plans for testing will be dependent on whether the threat is a known or novel pathogen, as this will dictate if existing tests can be utilised or a new test will need to be developed.UKHSA hold reserves of COVID-19 lateral flow and Polymerase Chain Reaction test kits, for use as part of a contingency response. The extent of this capability is subject to constant review.During the COVID-19 pandemic, testing services for the UKHSA and Sentinel National Health Service laboratories were established in approximately six weeks and surge testing was established in a further six weeks.

Cancer: Medical Treatments

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the updates to the NICE manual on patient access to medicines in the Cancer Drugs Fund, including medicines coming to the end of their existing managed access arrangements, on patient access to innovative cancer treatments.

Helen Whately: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published its updated manual for health technology evaluations in January 2022 and has introduced a number of changes to make its methods and processes fairer, faster and more consistent. This includes the introduction of a broader severity modifier in place of the end of life modifier. Analysis carried out by NICE in the development of the modifier indicates that the vast majority of cancer medicines that would be eligible for the end of life modifier would also be eligible for a weighting under the severity modifier.

Social Services

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve access to adult social care in (a) Romford constituency, (b) the London Borough of Havering and (c) the UK.

Helen Whately: The Government is making available up to £7.5 billion in additional funding over two years to support adult social care and discharge in England with up to £2.8 billion available in 2023/24 and up to £4.7 billion in 2024/25. The final Local Government Finance Settlement for 2023/24 was published on 6 February 2023, and includes details of all grant funding available to all English local authorities to support adult social care and discharge, including Havering Council.The department does not hold data on funding provided at constituency level. Alongside additional funding, from April, the Care Quality Commission will begin to assess all local authorities’ delivery of their adult social care duties. This will help drive quality and better outcomes, including accessibility, for those drawing on care and support.

Asthma: Steroid Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it his Department's policy to reduce the use of oral corticosteroids as a maintenance treatment for asthma in the context of the Major Conditions Strategy’s focus on chronic respiratory diseases.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Major Conditions Strategy will include targets for the uptake of innovative treatments such as biologics in the context of chronic respiratory diseases.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will include a commitment in the Major Conditions Strategy to eliminating potential health inequalities based on social deprivation for people with asthma and COPD, in the context of potential higher mortality rates from those conditions and any potential differences in access to treatments.

Helen Whately: The Strategy will cover treatment and prevention for chronic respiratory disease and the Department will continue to work closely with stakeholders, citizens and the National Health Service in the coming weeks to identify actions that will have the most impact. The Strategy will also apply a geographical lens to address regional disparities in health outcomes, supporting the levelling up mission to narrow the gap by 2030.

Spinal Injuries

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to improve bowel care for people with spinal cord injuries.

Helen Whately: To support improved bowel care for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) NHS England has published a service specification setting out what providers must have in place to deliver SCI services. This includes specialist multidisciplinary teams providing advice and care in bowel management, including promoting and manging continence.

Hospitals: Discharges

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make a comparative assessment of the potential benefits of providing discharge funding for people with a delayed discharge to the (a) acute, (b) primary and (c) social care sector.

Helen Whately: We have no plans to make an assessment. Improving discharge outcomes requires a whole system approach and funding has been shared across health and social care with flexible conditions to best serve the needs of local systems. The Department is committed to the evaluation of discharge funding and to ensuring that future discharge funding is based on the best available evidence.

Defibrillators

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase awareness of defibrillator (a) access and (b) use.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to increase access to defibrillators.

Helen Whately: To increase access to defibrillators, the Government announced funding of £1 million that expands the number and accessibility of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) in communities.NHS England have partnered with St John Ambulance to co-ordinate skills development to significantly increase the use of AEDs by individuals in community settings. This includes a national network of Community Advocates to champion the importance of first aid, training 60,000 people that will help save up to 4,000 lives each year by 2028.During the summer, the Government announced that state-funded schools across England will receive at least one AED on site, with more devices delivered to larger schools, boosting their numbers in communities across the country.In addition, at the grassroots sport level, all capital funding awards for sports venues made by Sport England, the Government’s arm’s length body for community sport, must include AED provision if it is not already available.

Arthritis: Medical Treatments

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department has spent on research into arthritis treatment in each of the last five years.

Cat Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how much his Department intends to spend on research into arthritis treatment in each of the next five years.

Helen Whately: Over the past five financial years, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) has invested more than £100 million in funding and support for arthritis research. It is not usual practice to ring-fence funds for particular topics or conditions. Applications are subject to peer review and judged in open competition, with awards being made on the basis of the importance of the topic to patients and health and care services, value for money and scientific quality. Therefore, future spend on arthritis research over the next five years is undetermined.

Personal Health Budgets

Feryal Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what recent progress his Department has made on increasing the number of people who receive a Personal Health Budget.

Neil O'Brien: The NHS Long Term Plan sets the expectation for 200,000 people to benefit from a personal health budget by 2023/24. The National Health Service is on track to meet that ambition.144,682 people in England received a personal health budget by Quarter 3 2022/23. This is an increase of 32,864 people compared to Quarter 2, 2022/23. As such, more people of all ages have greater choice and flexibility over how their assessed health and wellbeing needs are met. Information on Personal Health Budgets is published online:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/personal-health-budgets/2022-23-q3/personal-health-budgets-q3-2022-23

Smoking: Health Education

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 6 February 2023 to Question 136680 on Smoking: Health education, for what reason (a) the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities and (b) his Department is unable to provide information on Public Health England.

Neil O'Brien: Following the dissolution of Public Health England, the Office for Health Information and Disparities or the Department no longer have access to the detailed financial data to enable us to provide information in the format that was requested. Public Health England operated on an annual budgetary cycle which ran from April until March the following year. From the data available, the following table shows the figures on anti-smoking campaigns by the Department and its agencies in the following financial years.Financial yearTotal expenditure2020/21£1.32 million2021/22£1.45 millionNote:The figures reference expenditure for advertising on television, radio, national press, regional press, out of home (outdoor), social and digital advertising.All figures rounded to the nearest £10,000 and do not include VAT.Recruitment advertising and media partnerships are not included. Paid search is not included.

Telemedicine: Pilot Schemes

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s press release entitled Patients to carry out health checks in comfort of own home to ease pressure on frontline services, published on 5 December 2022, what steps his Department is taking to evaluate the plan for the digitised NHS health check trial in Cornwall.

Neil O'Brien: The Department is working with Staffordshire University to evaluate the digital NHS Health Check trial in Cornwall. Findings from the evaluation will be shared once complete in summer 2023. The evaluation will inform the next steps of the Department’s national work to develop a digital NHS Health Check.

Telemedicine: Pilot Schemes

Wes Streeting: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Department’s press release  entitled Patients to carry out health checks in comfort of own home to ease pressure on frontline services, released on 5 December 2022, when he expects the outcome of the digitised NHS health check trial in Cornwall to be published.

Neil O'Brien: The Department is working with Staffordshire University to evaluate the digital NHS Health Check trial in Cornwall. Findings from the evaluation will be shared once complete in summer 2023. The evaluation will inform the next steps of the Department’s national work to develop a digital NHS Health Check.

Prescriptions: Fees and Charges

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, when he plans to respond to the consultation on Aligning the upper age for NHS prescription charge exemptions with the State Pension age.

Neil O'Brien: We will make an announcement in due course.

Dental Services: Older People

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of NHS dental provision for elderly people; and what steps he is taking to ensure adequate dental provision in care homes.

Neil O'Brien: NHS England is responsible for commissioning primary care dentistry to meet the needs of the local population of all ages and those in care homes. Many of the dentistry commissioning functions undertaken by NHS England will transfer to integrated care boards (ICBs) from April 2023. ICBs will be responsible for meeting the needs of their local population by working with patient groups, including on communication needs. NHS England has made available to commissioners an Assurance Framework to provide assurances on commissioning.Community dental services offer dental care to vulnerable patients who are referred by a general practitioner or social worker and cannot be treated in a general National Health Service dental practice. Treatments are provided in settings including hospitals, specialist health centres and mobile clinics, as well as through home visits or visits in nursing and care homes. In circumstances where a person is unable to access an urgent dental appointment directly through a NHS dental practice, they are advised to contact NHS 111 for assistance.

Tobacco

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the Major Conditions Strategy, whether his Department still plans to publish a separate Tobacco Control Plan.

Neil O'Brien: The Government remains committed to its bold ambition to be Smokefree by 2030. We are still considering the recommendations made in ‘The Khan review: making smoking obsolete’ and further information will be available in due course.Tackling smoking and other causes of preventable ill-health and mortality will be central to the Major Conditions Strategy. Smoking substantially increases the risk of heart disease, heart attack and stroke and causes seven out of 10 cases of lung cancer.

Healthy Start Scheme

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to recommendation 3, page 90 of the National Food Strategy, published in July 2021, if she will make it her policy to fund a communications campaign to increase the uptake of Healthy Start vouchers amongst eligible families; and if she will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: The NHS Business Services Authority promotes the Healthy Start scheme through its digital channels and has created free tools to help stakeholders promote the scheme locally.The latest Healthy Start uptake figures were published on 31 January 2023. In January 2023, over 362,000 beneficiaries were in receipt of NHS Healthy Start. Uptake of the fully digitised scheme is higher than the previous paper voucher scheme.

Dental Services: Schools

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what discussions he has had with NHS England on the potential merits of establishing NHS dental services in schools.

Neil O'Brien: There are no plans to establish National Health Service dental services in schools in England. The UK National Screening Committee advised in 2006 that population screening for dental disease in children aged six to nine years old should be discontinued as it was ineffective. Reviews in 2013 and 2019 upheld this recommendation. The latest report is available from the following link: https://view-health-screening-recommendations.service.gov.uk/dental-disease/

Dentistry: Training

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will take steps to introduce training bonds for dentists who train at English universities to require them to work in the NHS for a set period of time.

Neil O'Brien: We have no plans to introduce training bonds for dentists who train at English universities.The National Health Service contracts with independent dental providers to deliver NHS dental treatment in primary care settings. As a result, pay and conditions are agreed between staff and the practice holding an NHS contract, providing practices with the flexibility to recruit to meet local needs.

Children: Death

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the debate on 17 January 2023, Official Report, column 100WH on Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, whether the review of the information on the NHS website has been completed; and if he will make a statement.

Neil O'Brien: The review is not yet completed. NHS England is currently reviewing patient information, including on Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood, with relevant stakeholders to ensure it is relevant and appropriate. Sudden Unexplained Death in Childhood is devasting for affected families. By raising awareness and through expert-led research into modifiable factors, there can be better information to parents and professionals to help reduce risks.

Bevacizumab

Alex Sobel: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether his Department has plans to fund the use of the medication Avastin on the NHS for the treatment of bowel cancer when alternate medications are not suitable due to gene mutations.

Will Quince: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for developing evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service on whether new medicines represent a clinically and cost-effective use of resources. NICE’s guidance is based on a thorough assessment of the available evidence and developed through extensive engagement with stakeholders. NICE was unable to recommend bevacizumab (Avastin) as an effective use of NHS resources for the treatment of metastatic colorectal cancer, and it is not routinely funded on the NHS in England. NICE has been asked to consider updating its appraisals of bevacizumab for colorectal cancer given that there are now multiple biosimilars available, some at significantly lower cost than the price at which bevacizumab was originally assessed. However, NICE must also take into consideration wider considerations regarding the use of bevacizumab in different scenarios that have evolved since the original appraisals. NICE is exploring options and further information on any proposed changes will be made available in due course.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust: Surgery

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many elective operations were cancelled in the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in each quarter of (a) 2020-21, (b) 2021-22 and (c) 2022-23 to date.

Will Quince: The information is not held in the format requested.

Medical Treatments Abroad

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many successful applications for healthcare were approved under the S2 funding route in 2022.

Will Quince: There were 609 successful applications for healthcare under the Planned Treatment Scheme (S2) and Maternity S2 funding routes in 2022.

Health Services: Watford

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the start and proposed end dates are of the obligations incurred by the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust under the agreements with Watford Borough Council and the property company Kier signed in June 2013 in relation to the Watford Health Campus Partnership LLP.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the financial and other obligations incurred by the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust are as a result of the agreements with Watford Borough Council and the property company Kier signed in June 2013 in relation to the Watford Health Campus Partnership LLP.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether any subsequent legal agreements have been reached to change the original (a) obligations and (b) rights applying to the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as set out in the June 2013 agreement for the Watford Health Campus Partnership LLP.

Will Quince: National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts own their own land and buildings and are responsible for the sale or disposal of identified assets. Trusts work with integrated care boards, including the local authority and NHS England, on planning and optimising their estate.The NHS has advised that the arrangement between West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Watford Borough Council and Kier was signed in 2013 and has a termination date of 2033 unless otherwise agreed by the parties. The housing regeneration is ongoing, and the hospital redevelopment is now part of the New Hospital Programme.The Trust will make contributions to infrastructure costs as the work progresses and details of these will be made public in the normal way. To date, a £7 million contribution has been made by the Trust to the development of Thomas Sawyer Way, an access road which has an ambulance-only section, as well as access for staff, patients, and visitors to the new multi-storey car park. There have been no subsequent legal agreements which have changed either the original obligations or the rights applying to the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Health Services: Watford

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on potential benefits and costs (a) realised and (b) expected to be realised by the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust as a result of the agreements with Watford Borough Council and the property company Kier signed in June 2013 in relation to the Watford Health Campus Partnership LLP.

Sir Mike Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what information his Department holds on agreements in place under which the West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is liable to pay for land that it is planning to acquire from Watford Borough Council in relation to the Trust's acute redevelopment scheme.

Will Quince: The information requested is not held centrally. National Health Service trusts and NHS foundation trusts own their own land and buildings and are responsible for the sale or disposal of identified assets. Trusts work with integrated care boards, including the local authority and NHS England, on planning and optimising their estate.

Asthma: Steroid Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to the guidance from the NHS Accelerated Access Collaborative, whether his Department is taking steps to minimise the use of Oral Corticosteroids as a maintenance treatment for asthma patients.

Will Quince: There are no plans to undertake an assessment of the prescribing of oral corticosteroids for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Reducing health inequalities amongst people with COPD and asthma is a key cross-cutting focus for NHS England. Respiratory clinical networks have been established to support delivery of the objectives set out in the Long-Term Plan, which includes a particular focus on reducing health inequalities.National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the British Thoracic Society and the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network provide clear guidance on the prescribing of oral steroids for both COPD and asthma. For both conditions, short courses only are recommended in cases of acute exacerbations. For people with COPD, NICE do not normally recommend maintenance use of oral corticosteroid therapy. However, some people with advanced COPD may require maintenance oral corticosteroids when these cannot be withdrawn after an exacerbation. In these cases, the dose of oral corticosteroids should be kept as low as possible.

Knee Replacements: Hospitals

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average stay in hospital was for patients undergoing elective knee surgery in England in (a) 2010 and (b) the year for which the latest data are available.

Will Quince: The following table shows the average stay in hospital for patients undergoing elective knee surgery in England in 2010 and 2022/23.YearRecordsRecords with a valid duration recordedMean duration (days)Median duration (days)2010/11207,463103,6134.842022/23 (April to December 22 Provisional Data)89,64465,9953.22

Rhabdomyolysis

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he plans to produce clinical guidance for the treatment of rhabdomyolysis.

Will Quince: The Department has no such plans.The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body that develops authoritative, evidence-based guidance for the National Health Service to drive best practice. Topics for the development of NICE clinical guidelines are commissioned by NHS England and selected through a topic selection process that takes into account the burden of disease, evidence base and variation in practice.The British Medical Journal has published best practice guidance on rhabdomyolysis which is available at the following link:https://bestpractice.bmj.com/topics/en-gb/167

Antibiotics: Shortages

Julian Sturdy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to tackle (a) domestic and (b) global antibiotics shortages.

Will Quince: The Department’s focus is on helping to ensure continuity of supply of medicines, including antibiotics, for United Kingdom patients. We use a range of tools and follow well-established processes to manage and mitigate medicine supply issues, working closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, the pharmaceutical industry, NHS England, Devolved Governments and others operating in the supply chain, to help prevent shortages and to ensure that the risks to patients are minimised when they do arise.The recent supply issues affecting antibiotics used to treat Strep A appear to be improving, as decisive action has been taken to boost supply and demand has reduced. We are continuing to work with manufacturers and wholesalers to ensure that they expedite deliveries, bring forward stock they have to make sure it gets to where it is needed, and boost supply to meet demand. We have issued eight Serious Shortage Protocols to allow pharmacists to supply an alternative form of penicillin V, or alternative antibiotic, to make things easier for them, patients, and general practitioners.We understand from our engagement with industry and other stakeholders that other countries have also experienced supply issues with antibiotics over recent months. We are working with our global partners, to share information and intelligence and and work together to address those issues.

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust: Hip Replacements

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were waiting 18 weeks or more for (a) hip and (b) hip replacement surgery in the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in each month between February 2020 and September 2022.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were waiting 52 weeks or more for (a) hip and (b) replacement surgery in the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in each month between February 2020 and September 2022.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were waiting 65 weeks or more for (a) hip and (b) hip replacement surgery in the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in each month between February 2020 and September 2022.

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, how many people were waiting 78 weeks or more for (a) hip and (b) hip replacement surgery in the Somerset NHS Foundation Trust in each month between February 2020 and September 2022.

Will Quince: Hospital Episode Statistics is a database containing details of all admissions, accident and emergency attendances and outpatient appointments at National Health Service hospitals. Initially this data is collected during a patient's time at hospital as part of the Commissioning Data Set. However, the data that is requested in this question is not available in the format requested. Waiting time data at trust level is not available by specific condition/treatment.

Musgrove Park Hospital: Accident and Emergency Departments

Mr Ian Liddell-Grainger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time for treatment was at A&E at Musgrove Park Hospital in each of the last three years.

Will Quince: This information is not collected centrally. NHS Digital publish monthly accident and emergency quality indicators data, including average waiting times for treatment in accident and emergency, at National Health Service trust level. Such data is not available at an individual hospital level.NHS trust level data is available at the following link:https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/provisional-accident-and-emergency-quality-indicators-for-england

NHS: Protective Clothing

Fleur Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, pursuant to the Answer of 23 December 2022 to Question 104233 on NHS: Protective Clothing, what percentage of the 176 personal protective equipment programme contracts that his Department are examining have had funds recovered as of 18 January 2023.

Will Quince: The Department recently placed a note in the libraries of both Houses providing an update on progress made by the Contract Dissolution Team.

Migrant Workers: Social Services

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate her Department has made of the number of non-UK passport holders employed in social care in the UK in (a) 2019, (b) 2020, (c) 2021 and (d) 2022.

Helen Whately: Based on Skills for Care published estimates, the proportion of the adult social care workforce identifying as a non-British nationality is, 2019/20 (17%), 2020/21 (16%) and 2021/22 (17%). Data is not yet available for 2022/23.

Cancer: Health Services

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Written Statement of 24 January on Government Action on Major Conditions and Diseases, HCWS514, how the Major Conditions Strategy will tackle waiting times for cancer (a) diagnosis and (b) treatment.

Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to his Written Statement of 24 January on Government Action on Major Conditions and Diseases, HCWS514, what engagement his Department plans to have with the relevant cancer-related stakeholders on the Major Conditions Strategy.

Helen Whately: The Major Conditions Strategy will look at cancer, covering the patient pathway from prevention, through treatment, to follow-up care. The strategy will look at a wide range of interventions and enablers to improve outcomes and experience for cancer patients.The Major Conditions Strategy will draw on previous work on cancer, including over 5,000 submissions provided to the Department as part of our Call for Evidence last year.  We will continue to work closely with stakeholders, citizens, and the National Health Service in coming weeks to identify actions for the strategy that will have the most impact.

Cancer: Diagnosis

Dean Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to help increase the level of early cancer diagnosis.

Helen Whately: Achieving earlier and faster diagnosis of cancer is a priority for the National Health Service. That is why one of the core ambitions in the NHS Long Term Plan is to diagnose 75% of cancers at stage 1 or 2 by 2028.NHS England’s plan to improve cancer outcomes and accelerate cancer diagnoses is based on six core strands of activity, from raising awareness of cancer symptoms and encouraging people to come forward, to implementing targeted interventions for particular cancer types that we know have previously experienced later stages of diagnosis.This includes the ‘Help Us, Help You’ campaigns, which focus on specific symptoms linked to certain cancer types and tackle the fear-related barriers to seeking help from the NHS, across all cancer types.The introduction of non-specific symptoms pathways, of which there are now 102 across England, offers a route that general practitioners can use with patients whose symptoms do not align with one suspected cancer pathway, such as abdominal pain or weight loss.

Hospices: Children

Munira Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Children's Hospice Grant will be renewed beyond financial year 2023-24.

Helen Whately: NHS England determines the best use of its financial settlement to deliver services. Funding arrangements beyond 2023/24 have not yet been agreed.

Wales Office

Wind Power: Wales

Mrs Sheryll Murray: What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support offshore wind in Wales.

Andrew Selous: What steps he is taking with Cabinet colleagues to support offshore wind in Wales.

Dr James Davies: Floating offshore wind will create thousands of high-quality jobs in Wales, drive economic growth and help us reach our net zero and energy security ambitions. I will continue to work with colleagues across Government and The Crown Estate as they progress plans to bring forward 4 Gigawatts of projects in the Celtic Sea by 2035.

Freeports: Wales

Virginia Crosbie: What recent discussions he has had with Cabinet colleagues on the delivery of freeports in Wales.

David T C  Davies: I have regular discussions with Cabinet colleagues on the delivery of freeports in Wales and I am pleased that the assessment process is underway. The UK and Welsh Governments are working collaboratively to achieve positive outcomes for Wales.

Infrastructure: Wales

Kerry McCarthy: What recent discussions he has had with the Welsh Government on funding for green infrastructure in Wales.

David T C  Davies: My Department works closely with the Welsh Government on funding for green infrastructure in Wales, including the UK Government’s ambition to bring forward 4 gigawatts of innovative floating offshore wind in the Celtic Sea and support for workplace and home Electric Vehicle charging points.

Department for Education

Schools: Bullying

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to help (a) tackle transphobic bullying inschools.

Claire Coutinho: The department has sent a clear message that bullying should never be tolerated, and we are committed to supporting schools to tackle it.The department provides advice for schools outlining schools’ responsibilities. The advice makes clear that schools should make appropriate provision for a bullied child's social, emotional, and mental health needs. This is available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/preventing-and-tackling-bullying.Between 10 August 2021 and 31 March 2023, the department is providing over £2 million of funding to five anti-bullying organisations to support schools to tackle bullying. This includes projects targeting bullying of particular groups.The department is also ensuring that all children in England learn about respectful relationships, in person and online, as part of new mandatory relationships, sex and health education. These subjects are designed to give pupils the knowledge they need to lead happy, safe, and healthy lives and to foster respect for other people and for difference.All schools are required by law to have a behaviour policy which outlines measures to encourage good behaviour and prevent all forms of bullying amongst pupils. The policy should set out the behaviour expected of pupils, the sanctions that will be imposed for misbehaviour, and rewards for good behaviour. This should be communicated to all pupils, school staff and parents. This is supported by Respectful School Communities, a self-review and signposting tool to support schools to develop a whole-school approach which promotes respect and discipline. This is available at: https://educateagainsthate.com/resources/respectful-school-communities-self-review-signposting-tool-2/. This tool can combat bullying, harassment and prejudice of any kind, including hate-based bullying.

Pupils: Anxiety

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an estimate of the number of pupils who are unable to go to school because of anxiety caused by the school culture.

Claire Coutinho: All schools should be calm, safe, and supportive environments where pupils and staff can thrive in safety and respect. No pupil should miss out on education because they feel unsafe, miss out on learning because their lesson is disrupted, or fall behind because their needs are not identified and supported.The department has asked pupils about reasons for school absence in the department’s ‘Parent, Pupil and Learner panel’ surveys. Across the last two waves in which the questions were asked (the June wave from the 2021/22 academic year and the November wave from the 2022/23 academic year), 12% and 27% of those pupils and learners surveyed who said they did not attend school every day in the two weeks prior to the survey said this was due to anxiety or mental health problems, respectively.Although the percentage in wave two appears much higher than the June wave, it is important to note that, in June, 36% of pupils surveyed reported that they missed one or more days of school for any reason in the preceding two weeks, whereas only 13% missed one or more days for any reason in wave two. This means that, as a proportion of absence, the overall number of pupils reporting having missed a day or more due to anxiety or mental health is similar across waves.

Pupils: Anxiety

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if she will make an assessment of (a) the potential impact of school attendance on levels of anxiety in children and (b) the potential impact of the type of disciplinary approach used in schools on those levels of anxiety.

Claire Coutinho: Good attendance and behaviour in schools is central to a good education, and strong cultures and boundaries set by schools have a positive impact on the wellbeing of pupils and staff.The department does not routinely collect specific attendance data on anxiety-related absence from school, or the impact of disciplinary approaches within schools.The department has, however, asked pupils about reasons for school absence in the department’s ‘Parent, Pupil and Learner panel’ surveys. Across the last two waves in which the questions were asked, 12% and 27% of those pupils and learners surveyed who said they did not attend school every day in the two weeks prior to the survey said this was due to anxiety or mental health problems, respectively.The results of the survey responses to the June wave 2021/22 can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1122899/PPLP_report_rw4_june.pdf. The results of the survey responses to the November wave 2022/23 can be accessed here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1137863/Parent__Pupil_and_Learner_Panel_2022_to_2023_November_wave.pdf.Although the percentage in the November wave appears much higher than the June wave, it is important to note that in June, 36% of pupils surveyed reported that they missed one or more days of school for ‘any reason’ in the preceding two weeks, whereas only 13% missed one or more days for ‘any reason’ in November. This means that, as a proportion of absence, the overall number of pupils reporting having missed a day or more due to anxiety or mental health is similar across waves.The department has not assessed the potential impact of the type of disciplinary approach used in schools on levels of anxiety. Schools need to manage behaviour well so that they can provide calm, safe and supportive environments where pupils and staff can work in safety and are respected. No pupil should miss out on education because they feel unsafe or miss out on learning because their lesson is disrupted.The government has an ambitious programme of work on improving behaviour in schools which aims to provide clarity and support for school leaders and staff. Well-managed schools create cultures where pupils receive the right support at the right time, and therefore pupils and staff can flourish in safety and respect.The Behaviour Hubs programme builds upon Tom Bennett’s independent review of behaviour in schools to achieve this. The review can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/602487/Tom_Bennett_Independent_Review_of_Behaviour_in_Schools.pdf. The review identified a set of core principles which include: having a clear understanding of what the school culture is, high expectations of pupils and a belief that all pupils matter, and consistency and attention to detail in the execution of school routines, norms, and values.The programme is flexible and non-prescriptive, with a tailored offer of support to develop a behaviour culture which works for schools, their pupils and their communities.The National Behaviour Survey is underway and is asking panels of pupils, parents, leaders and teachers about their perception of pupil behaviour. Running termly, the survey will track experiences and perceptions of pupil behaviour in schools across England.

Special Educational Needs

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she expects to publish the full response to the Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) green paper consultation before the Easter recess.

Claire Coutinho: The Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and Alternative Provision (AP) Green Paper consultation closed in July last year. The department is currently reviewing the feedback received and using this, along with continued engagement with the system, to inform the next stage of delivering improvements for children, young people, and their families.The department will be publishing a full response to the paper in an Improvement Plan imminently.We will continue to support the system in the immediate term to deliver change, and to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND and those who need AP.

Hearing Impairment: Teachers

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps the Department is taking to help improve the number of Teachers of the Deaf.

Claire Coutinho: I refer the hon. Member for Nottingham North to the answer I gave on 13 February 2023 to Question 140375.

Hearing Impairment: Teachers

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to increase the number of deaf teachers.

Claire Coutinho: I refer the honourable member for St Albans to the answer I gave on 13 February 2023 to Question 140375.

Children: Asylum

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment she has made with Cabinet colleagues of the adequacy of the regulatory framework applying to hotels providing accommodation to unaccompanied children seeking asylum under the National Transfer Scheme; and if she will make a statement.

Claire Coutinho: The Home Office are accommodating unaccompanied asylum seeking children on an emergency and temporary basis until they are transferred under the National Transfer Scheme to a responsible local authority. The Department for Education and the Home Office are clear that the best place for these children is in a local authority care placement.

Members: Correspondence

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she plans to respond to the correspondence of 10 February 2023 from the hon. Member for Lewisham East, reference JD32674.

Nick Gibb: The Cabinet Office target is for Departments to reply to 95% of correspondence within 20 working days. The Department and its Ministers understand the importance of providing timely responses to correspondence and have set an internal target for responding to MP correspondence within 18 working days. A response to the hon. Member’s letter will be sent by 8 March 2023.

Teachers: Employment Agencies

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate her Department has made of the cost to the public purse of employing teachers supplied by recruitment agencies between 2010 and 2017.

Nick Gibb: Information on Local Authority maintained school expenditure is collected in Consistent Financial Reporting returns. Academy expenditure is collected in Academies Accounts Returns. This information is subsequently published on the School Financial Benchmarking website, and for Local Authority maintained schools, in the annual official statistic ‘Local Authority and school expenditure’. This can be found here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/la-and-school-expenditure.Data for Local Authority maintained schools covers 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2017, and for academies and academy trusts covers 1 September 2011 to 31 August 2016. Due to changes in the collection of academy data, and the increase in the number of academies, figures prior to 2017 are not comparable.Expenditure on agency teaching staff recruitment in state-funded schools in England, by year1 (£1,000s) 2010201120122013201420152016Local authority maintained schools2£483,220£431,839£469,078£523,195£559,627£554,643£520,419Academies3,4--£47,800£152,556£209,825£295,269£271,925Total£483,220£431,839£516,878£675,751£769,452£849,912£792,344- Data not available.Source: Academies Accounts Returns and Consistent Financial Reporting returns.  1 Year refers to financial year for local authority maintained schools (e.g. 2016 = 1 April 2016 – 31 March 2017) and academic year for academies (e.g. 2016 = 1 September 2015 – 31 August 2016).2 Local authority maintained school expenditure line E26 'agency supply teaching staff'.3 Academy expenditure line BNCH21606 'agency supply teaching staff'.4 Includes only complete year returns (i.e. excludes academies that were only open for part of the year) and excludes centra service expenditure.

Pupils: Hearing Impairment

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to help reduce the gap in educational attainment between (a) deaf and (b) other children.

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to improve the GCSE results of deaf students.

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether the Government is on course to reach the target that 90 percent of all deaf children having expected standards in maths and literacy by the age of 11 by 2030.

Claire Coutinho: In the Schools White Paper, published March 2022, the department set clear ambitions for 90% of all children to leave primary school having achieved the expected standard in Key Stage 2 reading, writing and mathematics, and that in secondary schools, the national GCSE average grade in both English language and in mathematics will increase from 4.5 in 2019 to 5 by 2030.The department is confident that the policies set out in the White Paper will have a significant impact on improving literacy and numeracy at both KS2 and GCSE. The White Paper marked the start of a journey towards these targets.The department knows that children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) are disproportionately represented in those cohorts not meeting expected standards. If we are going to achieve our 90% and grade 5 targets by 2030 it is vital that we ensure pupils of all characteristics and backgrounds are making progress.On 29 March 2022, we published the SEND and Alternative Provision Green Paper, which set out our plans to improve the experience and outcomes for children and young people with SEND, including those with Sensory Impairment, within a fairer and financially sustainable system. We are now carefully considering the feedback we received through the thousands of responses to the consultation and in the many events that took place during the 16-week consultation period. We will publish a full response in an Improvement Plan imminently.

Schools: Ventilation

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on improving ventilation in classrooms in England.

Nick Gibb: The Department is not aware of any recent discussions between my right hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Education and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs on improving ventilation in classrooms.The Department’s policy is to support schools to improve ventilation to help avoid viruses and respiratory infections. Maintaining adequate ventilation ultimately remains the responsibility of individual schools.Since Autumn 2021, the Department has delivered over 600,000 CO2 monitors to state-funded settings, including early years, schools and further education providers. Final deliveries are due to be made by March 2023.In addition, the Department has provided over 8,400 air cleaning units so far for poorly ventilated teaching spaces in state-funded schools, where quick fixes to improve ventilation are not possible.

Teachers: Men

Nick Fletcher: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many (a) state-funded special and (b) pupil referral unit schools in England did not have any male teachers in each of the last five school workforce reporting years for which data is available.

Nick Gibb: Information on the school workforce, including the number of teachers by gender in each school, is published in the ‘School Workforce in England’ statistical publication here: https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/school-workforce-in-england.The table below provides the number and percentage of a) state-funded special and (b) pupil referral unit schools in England without any male teachers in each of the last five school workforce reporting years for which data is available.State-funded special and pupil referral unit schools in England without a male teacher, by census year and school type, number and percentage as at November 2017 to 2021: State-funded special schools Pupil referral units1NumberPercentageNumberPercentage2021454.5%164.9%2020454.5%164.8%2019454.6%185.3%2018414.2%175.1%2017485.0%236.8%Source: School Workforce Census1: Including alternative provision academy schools.

Apprentices: Taxation

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how much of the funding received through the Apprenticeship Levy has been re-invested in training and apprenticeships in the past five years.

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent discussions she has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the review of the Apprenticeship Levy.

Robert Halfon: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The apprenticeship levy is an important part of the department’s reforms to create a high-quality, employer-led apprenticeships system, and it supports employers of all sizes to invest in high-quality apprenticeship training.There are no current plans to review the apprenticeship levy. My right hon. Friends, the Secretary of State for Education, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer meet regularly to discuss how apprenticeships and skills can contribute to economic growth.The department continues to improve the apprenticeships system for employers and apprentices. We have made apprenticeships more accessible for all sectors through the development of flexi-job and accelerated apprenticeships, and we are working with providers to simplify the apprenticeship system through our ‘You said, we did’ programme.The apprenticeships budget is used to fund training and assessment for new apprenticeship starts in levy and non-levy paying employers, and to cover the ongoing costs of apprentices already in training and any additional payments made to employers and providers. The annual apprenticeship budget is set by HM Treasury (HMT) and although closely linked, it is distinct from the total levy income collected. The apprenticeship levy is paid by all eligible UK employers and funding linked to its income is distributed proportionately between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The table below shows the department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget against the total apprenticeships spend in England for the last five years. This shows that in the 2021/22 financial year 99.6% of the apprenticeships budget in England was spent, with only £11 million unspent. As is usual practice, any underspends in overall departmental budgets by the end of the financial year are first returned to HMT as per the Consolidated Budgeting Guidance.Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget and total apprenticeships spend, financial years 2017/18-2021/222017/182018/192019/202020/212021/22Department’s ring-fenced apprenticeships budget (£million)2,0102,2312,4692,4672,466Total ring-fenced apprenticeships spend (£million)1,5861,7381,9191,8632,455

Further Education: Finance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has had recent discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on increasing funding for further education colleges.

Robert Halfon: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only. My right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education and departmental officials meet with counterparts in other government departments regularly to discuss education and skills matters. Further education (FE) colleges can benefit from the additional £3.8 billion that the department is investing in FE and skills during this Parliamentary session, to ensure people across the country have access to the skills they need to build a fulfilling career in jobs the economy needs. This includes an extra £1.6 billion for 16-19 education secured in the 2024/25 financial year, compared with 2021/22. This is the biggest increase in 16-19 funding in a decade. This will help to fund the additional students anticipated in the system, at 40 extra hours per student. It will also provide an affordable increase in funding rates per 16-19 student, including an up-front cash boost which will see the national rate of funding increase by over 8 per cent in the 2022/23 academic year, from £4,188 to £4,542 per student. Further increases have been announced for the 2023/24 academic year. This includes increasing the national funding rate to £4,642, and a 10 per cent increase to the national funding rates for T Levels (bands 6 to 9) specifically for the 2023/24 academic year. This is to recognise the extra cost for providers transitioning from study programmes to T Levels, and to support providers with increasing their T Level offer. The department is continuing to invest in education and skills training for adults through the Adult Education Budget (AEB) with £1.34 billion in 2022/23. The AEB fully funds or co-funds skills provision for eligible adults aged 19 and above from pre-entry to level 3, to help them gain the skills they need for work, an apprenticeship or further learning. Through the National Skills Fund, worth £2.5 billion over the course of the Parliament, the department has made funding available to FE colleges across the country to deliver level 3 Free Courses for Jobs. The offer enables learners without a level 3 qualification, or learners with any qualification level but earning below the National Living Wage, to gain a qualification for free. FE colleges will also have the opportunity to bid to deliver Skills Bootcamps through the Dynamic Purchasing System, launched in November 2022. The first competition in digital skills is now live with 64 suppliers onboarded. The department is committed to supporting more employers in using apprenticeships to develop the skilled workforces they need and to helping more people benefit from the high-quality training that apprenticeships offer. To support more employers, including FE colleges and learners to access apprenticeships, we are increasing funding for apprenticeships in England to £2.7 billion by the 2024/25 financial year. The department is funding improvements in FE through a £2.8 billion skills capital investment over the spending review period. This funding will include improvements to the condition of the post-16 estate, new places in post-16 education, more specialist equipment and facilities for T Levels and delivery of the commitment to 20 Institutes of Technology across England.

Further Education: Borrowing

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether further education colleges are allowed access to borrowing from the Public Works Loan Board; and if he will make a statement.

Robert Halfon: The Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) provides loans to local authorities, and other specified bodies, from the National Loans Fund, operating within a policy framework set by HM Treasury. This borrowing is for capital projects.Colleges cannot borrow from PWLB as this is considered beyond the PWLB’s remit.The department has designed a package of measures to enable colleges to continue to invest in their estates.The department is taking a number of steps to assist the sector with funding, including providing colleges with additional capital grant allocations totalling £150 million. Individual college allocations were published in December and will be paid from April. The full list is on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/fe-capital-funding#additional-fe-capital-funding-for-the-2022-to-2023-financial-year.The department is also bringing forward £300 million in payments from the 2023/2024 financial year into the 2022/2023 financial year to cover the shortfall that providers experience in February and March 2023. This means making additional payments to institutions in February and March.The Department’s officials are working on options to support the delivery of capital projects by the sector. One of these options is a possible department-backed loans scheme for colleges that were intending to borrow commercially in order to fund a capital project.

Further Education: Labour Turnover and Recruitment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure greater (a) recruitment and (b) retention in the further education sector.

Robert Halfon: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The department is increasing the level of overall investment in the further education (FE) sector. This will help colleges to recruit, retain, and develop the staff they need.The 2021 Autumn Budget and Spending Review made an extra £1.6 billion available for 16-19 education in the 2024/25 financial year, compared with the 2021/22 financial year. In the 2023/24 financial year, the department will be using £125 million of available funding to:Invest an extra £85 million to support all institutions’ costs by increasing the national funding rate by 2.2% from £4,542 to £4,642.Invest approximately £40 million in subject specific funding, including via uplifting 16-19 programme costs weights for engineering, construction and digital sector subject areas. This is to support additional costs of recruiting and retaining teachers in this high value vocational provision.The department has launched a national FE recruitment campaign and a Teach in FE digital service which is expected to reach millions of prospective FE teaching staff. The campaign will target those with valuable experience in industry to train technical experts as well as delivering simple, accessible information and comprehensive support for prospective teachers.The government has supported the creation of new routes into FE teaching, including a new level 5 Learning and Skills Teacher apprenticeship for those planning to work in the FE sector. The department’s Taking Teaching Further programme, which enables business and industry experts to move into teaching by providing teacher training and early career support, has supported around 1,000 people to retrain as FE teachers since it launched in 2018. Furthermore, the department is providing bursaries worth up to £26,000 each tax-free to support FE teacher training in priority subject areas for 2022/23.

Schools: Vocational Guidance

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps her Department is taking to deliver employability skills in schools.

Nick Gibb: Education is a devolved matter, and the response outlines the information for England only.The Department supports high quality careers advice in all schools. Careers advice helps prepare pupils for the workplace, providing a clear understanding of the world of work, including the attributes needed and the routes to jobs and careers that they might find engaging and rewarding.This year the Department is investing £30 million in the Careers Enterprise Company (CEC) to support the delivery of careers programmes for pupils. The Department is working with the CEC to support schools and colleges to help them meet the Gatsby Benchmarks of good practice in careers, including those on employer encounters and work experience.

Further Education: Finance

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether she has made an assessment of the potential impact on funding for colleges of the decision announced on 29 November by the Office for National Statistics to reclassify them as part of the public sector; and if she will make a statement.

Robert Halfon: The department is working to provide reassurance, support and clarity to the sector.The department is providing colleges with additional capital grant allocations totalling £150 million. Individual college allocations were published in December and will be paid from April. The full list is available at: https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.publishing.service.gov.uk%2Fgovernment%2Fuploads%2Fsystem%2Fuploads%2Fattachment_data%2Ffile%2F1121488%2FAdditional_FE_capital_funding_allocations_2022_to_2023.ods&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK.We are also bringing forward £300 million in payments from the 2023/24 financial year into the 2022/23 financial year to cover the shortfall that providers experience in February and March 2023. This means making additional payments to institutions in February and March.The department has communicated to the sector how we will support and protect colleges, starting on 29 November with a letter to all accounting officers and details of the new consent process for new borrowing. The department appreciates the restrictions on commercial borrowing are challenging for colleges and is working to mitigate them.The department is also working on options to support the delivery of capital projects by the sector. One of these options is a possible department-backed loans scheme for colleges that were intending to borrow commercially in order to fund a capital project.

Ministry of Justice

Housing: Legal Aid Scheme

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what assessment he has made of the implications of his policies of access to a local legal aid provided for housing advice in (a) Liverpool, Walton constituency, (b) Merseyside and (c) the UK.

Mike Freer: The government spent £813 million on civil legal aid in the last financial year and is increasing investment specifically for housing legal aid by up to £10 million per annum with the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). HLPAS providers will be paid for early legal advice work and renumerated at a higher rate for a court duty service compared with the current Housing Possession Court Duty Service (HPCDS) from 1 August 2023. A full impact and equality assessment for HLPAS may be found on the housing legal aid consultation GOV.UK page: Housing Legal Aid: the way forward - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). The HLPAS tender is ongoing and the Legal Aid Agency is monitoring the process closely, taking actions where gaps in compliant bids appear. The LAA are currently running a second tender opportunity to ensure provision is available in Liverpool and Merseyside. The deadline for submissions for the tender is 12 pm on 1st March. The procurement timetable confirms that the outcome of the procurement process will be communicated to applicants in June. The recently announced Review of Civil Legal Aid will assess how the market is currently working and what is driving problems and gaps in provision with the aim of improving the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid system.

Civil Proceedings: Legal Aid Scheme

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of providing a temporary increase in funding for the civil legal aid system while the present civil legal aid review takes place.

Mike Freer: The purpose of review of civil legal aid is to identify evidence-based options for moving to a more effective, efficient and sustainable system for legal aid providers and the people who rely on legal aid. Whilst the review of civil legal aid is taking place, we are continuing to make improvements across the sector to ensure legal aid is available to those who need it. We are injecting £10m a year into housing legal aid through upcoming changes to the Housing Possession Court Duty Scheme (HPCDS), to give people the best change of keeping their home when they fall into difficult financial times. From 1 March 2023, we are broadening the evidence requirements for victims of domestic abuse applying for legal aid. Special Guardianship Orders in private law proceedings will also be brought into the scope of legal aid from 1 May 2023. This will deliver on our commitments to support victims of domestic abuse and allow special guardians to access legal aid. This means an increase in funding of £13m per year. We are expanding legal aid provision through the Nationality and Borders Act, spending over £8m, aiming to provide advice to individuals who are prioritised for removal from the UK, and to help identify victims of modern slavery. Legal aid provision is kept under constant review by the Legal Aid Agency, who will take immediate action to ensure there is access across England and Wales.

Homelessness: Liverpool

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps his Department is taking to help ensure the uptake of Housing Loss Prevention Advice Scheme contracts in Liverpool.

Mike Freer: The Legal Aid Agency is closely monitoring the tender for the Housing Loss Prevention Advice Service (HLPAS). On 6 February we launched a second tender opportunity for 12 areas where compliant bids for the HLPAS have not been received including Liverpool. The deadline for submissions for the tender is 12 pm on 1st March. The procurement timetable confirms that the outcome of the procurement process will be communicated to applicants in June. We will assess the results of this tender on 01 March and respond accordingly to ensure legal aid is available for those facing the loss of their home in Liverpool. We continue to consider measures to support the sustainability of legal aid providers. The recently announced Review of Civil Legal Aid will explore options for improving the long-term sustainability of the civil legal aid system.

Prisons

Steve Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the operational capacity of prisons in July (a) 2023, (b) 2024 and (c) 2025.

Damian Hinds: The Ministry of Justice published prison population projections for 2022-2027 on 23 February: Prison population projections: 2022 to 2027 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).To meet that demand we are delivering 20,000 extra places – the biggest expansion of prison capacity in over a century. We have already delivered over 3,100 places, including the recent re-roll of HMP Morton Hall and the brand-new prison, HMP Five Wells. 1,700 further places are being created through the delivery of HMP Fosse Way, due to open in spring this year.

Church Commissioners

Church of England: Food Banks

Jim Shannon: To ask the Member for South West Bedfordshire, representing the Church Commissioners, if he will hold discussions with the Church of England on taking steps to help increase foodbank donations.

Andrew Selous: A debate about the pressures on the cost of living was held in the General Synod at its February 2023 sessions. Renewed calls and commitments were made there to provide continuing support for the most vulnerable, through parish-based local community partnerships with charities and food bank providersThe Trussell Trust report that their network of food banks receives a significant proportion of their donations from churches and despite a fall during the pandemic when church congregations were not meeting, donations have increased again over the last year, despite the increasing costs that churches and congregants face themselves.  Ensuring that donations keep match with demand is crucial for helping food banks to support everyone who needs them, though decreasing overall demand in the longer term is a shared goal of the Church, providers and Government

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Liz Truss

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how many photographers were employed by his Department to work with the Rt hon. Member for South West Norfolk when she was Secretary of State; and what the cost to the public purse was of employing those photographers.

David Rutley: We are in a digital age, where social media and digital communications are an essential part of government. Such supporting staff are a cross-government resource, who document the work of government, assisting departments and ministers, performing an essential role in the government's digital communications activity with the public.

Bahrain: Capital Punishment

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether he has had recent discussions with his Bahraini counterpart on the proposed executions of Mohamed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa.

David Rutley: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office continues to follow and discuss the cases of Mohamed Ramadhan and Hussain Moosa with the Bahraini Government, as well as with the independent oversight bodies.

Cabinet Office: South Asia

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, how days has the Special Representative to Afghanistan and Pakistan worked since his appointment in May 2021.

Leo Docherty: Since 2010, the Prime Minister's Special Representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan has also held another FCDO position (currently Director for Afghanistan and Pakistan) and has worked in a full-time capacity.

Zimbabwe: Storms

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of the Government of Zimbabwe on UK support for preparations ahead of Cyclone Freddy.

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with representatives of the government of Mozambique on UK support for preparations ahead of Cyclone Freddy.

Mr Andrew Mitchell: The Foreign Secretary has not discussed this issue with the Governments of Mozambique or Zimbabwe.The FCDO provides ongoing humanitarian assistance in both countries. In Mozambique, this includes working with local and international partners and the Government of Mozambique to support disaster planning and response e.g. by providing emergency assistance for those displaced, and by funding partners to pre-position emergency shelter and non-food items. Ahead of Cyclone Freddy, the UK-supported START Fund has already allocated up to £275 thousand to its network members to help provide direct assistance. The British High Commissioner has participated in the government-led crisis response mechanism, and UK flood modelling is supporting the national and international response.In Zimbabwe, British Embassy Harare is engaging with the UN-convened Humanitarian Country Team (HCT), which is tracking and assessing the risks of Cyclone Freddy in coordination with government partners. We are continuing to monitor the cyclone and coordinate with the HCT on preparedness and response plans. Earlier this month, the START Fund also allocated up to £192 thousand in response to severe weather in Zimbabwe.

China: Foreign Relations

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the state of relations between the UK and China.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: We recognise that China poses a systemic challenge to our values and interests. We are evolving our approach to one of robust pragmatism, which focuses on UK interests. The Foreign Secretary spoke to his counterpart, Qin Gang, on 20 February and met with Chinese Director of the Office of the Central Foreign Affairs Commission, Wang Yi, at the Munich Security Conference on 18 February. During those conversations he underlined the importance to the UK of defending human rights, the UK position on the war in Ukraine and the fact that we will continue to speak out and take action where appropriate. However, the UK cannot ignore China's significance in world affairs and the Foreign Secretary also discussed UK-China working together on issues like global economic stability and climate change. The upcoming Integrated Review refresh will set out our position and approach to China.

Thailand: Uighurs

Ruth Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with the Government of Thailand on the (a) humanitarian and (b) health situation facing Uyghur asylum-seekers in Thailand.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: The United Kingdom continues to monitor the humanitarian and health situation of the Uyghurs in Thailand. We have raised this matter directly with the Thai authorities on a number of occasions, both at ministerial and official levels, and continue to work closely with likeminded partners on the issue. The United Kingdom remains committed to upholding the principle of non-refoulement and has repeatedly urged other countries to honour their obligations not to force people to return to a country where they are likely to face torture or ill treatment.

Seas and Oceans: Treaties

Peter Aldous: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether it is his policy to agree a global high seas treaty that includes increased powers for the Conference of Parties before the fifth session of the UN Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan: Negotiations in the Intergovernmental Conference to negotiate a new Implementing Agreement under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) resumed at the UN on 20 February. The UK strongly supports the conclusion of an ambitious agreement at these negotiations and is working hard with international partners to achieve that outcome, which will include a mechanism for establishing Marine Protected Areas in the high seas. Negotiations conclude on 3 March.

UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Domestic Advisory Group

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what the appointment process was of bodies to the Domestic Advisory Group under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Leo Docherty: The Government ran an Expression of Interest campaign from 19 October 2021 until 29 November 2021 to determine membership of the Domestic Advisory Group (DAG). The membership list was published on 31 March 2022. The Expression of Interest exercise was reopened on 15 August 2022 until 16 September 2022 to allow additional members to apply. These organisations were announced on 26 September 2022. They were chosen based on being a not-for-profit civil society organisation, having relevant Trade Cooperation Agreement expertise and representing UK citizens and businesses.The membership of the UK DAG is determined by the Government and can be reviewed on a regular basis, in consultation with the DAG Executive Council.

UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Domestic Advisory Group

Mr Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, which bodies are represented on the Domestic Advisory Group under the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

Leo Docherty: The membership of the Domestic Advisory Group (DAG) consists of business organisations, trade unions, charities and voluntary organisations. The full list of Members is published on: UK-EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement Domestic Advisory Group - Membershttps://www.gov.uk/government/groups/uk-eu-trade-and-cooperation-agreement-domestic-advisory-group#current-dag-members-are

Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Ticketmaster

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2022 to Question 61995 on Ticketmaster, whether her Department plans to take steps to help protect customers from increasing prices as a result of dynamic pricing.

Julie Elliott: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 19 October 2022 to Question 61995 on Ticketmaster, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of dynamic pricing on access to cultural events.

Julia Lopez: We are committed to supporting fair and transparent ticket pricing and tackling unacceptable behaviour in this market.As set out in our reply to Question 61995, we believe that ticket pricing strategies are ultimately a matter for event organisers and ticketing platforms, providing they comply with relevant legislation, particularly regarding transparency with customers on how tickets are priced, in order to help consumers make a fair and informed decision.

Holiday Accommodation: Registration

Sir Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, with reference to her Department's consultation entitled Developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England, published on 29 June 2022, what assessment she has made of the potential implications for her polices of the Visitor register scheme used in the Netherlands.

Julia Lopez: A call for evidence on developing a tourist accommodation registration scheme in England was held between June and September 2022, and received almost 4,000 responses. Respondents were asked, amongst other questions, to provide insights or evidence on the impact of schemes or approaches that are already in place elsewhere in the world.The findings of the call for evidence have indicated that there is a case for light-touch regulation of the sector, and therefore the Government is introducing a registration scheme for short-term lets through the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill. The exact details of how the scheme will operate will be explored through a public consultation which will be published shortly. Where appropriate, schemes that have already been implemented in other countries such as in the Netherlands may be considered as we develop the details of how the scheme in England will be designed.

Department for Work and Pensions

Children: Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in how many Child Maintenance Service cases a parent is in arrears of above (a) £1,000, (b) £5,000 (c) £10,000 as of 21 February 2023.

Mims Davies: The department does not currently hold the information you have requested up to the 21st of February 2023. We can provide the number of paying parents with arrears as of the 30th of September 2022. This will align with the latest published Child Maintenance Service statistics. Level of arrearsNumber of Paying ParentsCumulative countMore than £1,000 but less than or equal to £5,00080,83780,837More than £5,000 but less than or equal to £10,00019,401100,238More than £10,0008,295108,533

Child Maintenance Service and Department for Work and Pensions: Complaints

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average length of time was from receipt of a complaint about (a) his Department and (b) the Child Maintenance Service to the Independent Case Examiner to the commencement of any investigation in the latest period for which data is available.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the average time is from receipt of a complaint to the Independent Case Examiner about (a) her Department and (b) the Child Maintenance Service to the start of an investigation.

Mims Davies: Post-Covid, ICE has seen an increased number of referrals accompanied by an increase in the number of cases it has accepted. In the year April 2021 to March 2022, there was a 17% increase in the number of complaints being referred to ICE and a 68% increase in the number of complaints being accepted for examination, compared to the previous reporting year. The average time taken from complaint receipt to allocation to an investigator (based on all current live cases being investigated), on 23 February 2023, was 46 weeks (68 weeks for CMS cases, 47 weeks for DWP cases and 25 weeks for Provider cases). Northern Ireland cases have not been included. The rate at which complaints can be allocated to an investigator is dependent on multiple factors, including the volume and complexity of complaints received, as well as available investigative resource. The ICE office is continuously reviewing its own processes and operating model to improve productivity and reduce the length of time investigations take to be concluded. The office recruited 11 more investigators April – December 2022, and a further 6 joined in January 2023.

Children: Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the Child Maintenance Service has successfully applied to the courts to disqualify a parent from holding or obtaining a driving licence as part of enforcement action for the collection of child maintenance in each year since 2015.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the Child Maintenance Service has successfully applied to the courts to disqualify a parent from holding or obtaining a passport as part of enforcement action for the collection of child maintenance in each year since 2015.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the Child Maintenance Service has successfully applied to the courts for a parent to be imprisoned as part of enforcement action for the collection of child maintenance in each year since 2015.

Mims Davies: The full information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. The Department publishes quarterly Child Maintenance Service (CMS) statistics, with the latest statistics available to the end of September 2022 here. The statistics for where the CMS applied to courts to sanction Paying Parents from July 2019 to September 2022 can be found in ‘Table 7.2: Enforcement Actions - Detail on Sanctions’ of the National tables.

Children: Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the Child Maintenance Service has instructed enforcement agents to seize property to enforce the collection of child maintenance in each year since 2015.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the Child Maintenance Service has successfully applied to the courts for an order for the sale of (a) land, (b) property and (c) other assets as part of enforcement action for the collection of child maintenance in each year since 2015.

Mims Davies: The full information requested is not readily available and to provide it would incur disproportionate cost. DWP publishes quarterly statistics on enforcement actions for the Child Maintenance Service. The latest statistics are available up to September 2022 and are available here. The available statistics for enforcement actions used by the CMS from April 2015 to September 2022 can be found in ‘Table 7.1: Enforcement Actions’ of the National tables.

Social Security Benefits

Mr Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what estimate he has made of the savings in benefits payments that will be made because of the restriction on social housing rents increasing by the lower rate of seven per cent in the next financial year.

Mims Davies: Details of the DWPs estimated expenditure were published at Autumn Statement 2022 and can be found here.

Electrical Goods: Government Assistance

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he plans to take to help low-income households afford essential appliances; and if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of using the Household Support Fund to provide funding for these appliances.

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that the financial support offered to people for buying furniture is equitable across regions.

Mims Davies: The Department for Work & Pensions will spend £245 billion through the welfare system in 2022/23. This includes £111 billion on people of working age and around £134 billion on pensioners. Budgeting Advances are available to help finance intermittent or unforeseen expenses (for example, essential items like furniture or household equipment) or expenses related to maternity, obtaining or retaining employment. These advances ensure that low-income families that have an emergency financial need and do not have access to adequate savings or affordable loans can access funding to meet the emergency. Budgeting Advances are available to Universal Credit claimants who have been in receipt of Universal Credit continuously for at least six months or in receipt of a combination of existing benefits and Universal Credit continuously for at least six months. For claimants currently in receipt of Income Support, income-based Jobseekers Allowance, Income-Related Employment and Support Allowance and Pension Credit, Social Fund Budgeting Loans are available, which mirror the rules for Universal Credit Budgeting Advances.The Household Support Fund is a discretionary scheme run by Upper Tier Local Authorities in England to provide support to those most in need. The Household Support Fund should primarily be used to provide support vulnerable households with energy, food, and water costs, but may also provide support with essentials linked to these items and wider essentials. The guidance specifically states that this can include white goods such as fridges, freezers, ovens and slow cookers. Local Authorities have the ties and local knowledge to best determine how the Household Support Fund should be provided to their local communities. They have the discretion to design their own local schemes, within the parameters of the grant determination and guidance for the fund.

Children: Poverty

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to Action for Children’s latest report entitled, All worked out, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the level of children living in poverty in Portsmouth South; and if he will make a statement.

Mims Davies: The latest statistics on the number and proportion of children who are in low income families by local area are for 2020/21 and can be found in the annual publication: Children in low income families: local area statistics 2014 to 2021 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)(opens in a new tab). This Government is committed to a sustainable, long-term approach to tackling poverty and supporting people on lower incomes in this country. In 2022/23 we will spend £245 billion through the welfare system in Great Britain including £111 billion on people of working age. In 2023/24, subject to parliamentary approval, we are uprating all benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%, and in order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions, the benefit cap levels are also increasing by the same amount. With over 1.16 million vacancies across the UK, our focus is firmly on supporting people into and to progress in work. Our approach is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment, particularly where it is full-time, in substantially reducing the risk of poverty.

Children: Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the Child Maintenance Service has successfully applied for a parent's bank or building society account to be frozen as part of enforcement action for the collection of child maintenance in each year since 2015.

Mims Davies: The Child Maintenance Service may apply a Lump Deduction Order on a paying parent’s bank or building society as part of enforcement action. A Lump Deduction Order will freeze only the amount of maintenance due. If the account holds funds in excess of the maintenance owed, the proportion of funds not owed in child maintenance would not be frozen. The Department publishes quarterly statistics on enforcement actions for the Child Maintenance Service. The latest statistics are available up to September 2022 and are available here. The available statistics for enforcement actions used by the CMS from April 2015 to September 2022 in relation to Lump Sum Deduction can be found in ‘Table 7.1: Enforcement Actions’ of the National tables.

Children: Maintenance

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, on how many occasions the Child Maintenance Service has successfully applied to register details of a parent's debt on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines as part of enforcement action for the collection of child maintenance in each year since 2015.

Mims Davies: The Child Maintenance Service (CMS) continues to take rigorous action to collect maintenance, combining robust negotiation activity with the highly effective use of its extensive range of Enforcement Powers. An application to the courts for a liability order once granted brings a range of legal actions we can take to collect the child maintenance: asking bailiffs to negotiate a payment, or to seize and sell a paying parent’s belongingsregistering a paying parent’s debt on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, making it difficult for them to get a mortgage, loan or credit card. This option is not regularly taken by the Child Maintenance Service and applied only to those in financial service positions.using an ‘order for sale’ to sell a paying parent’s property or assets, and taking the proceeds from the salesending the paying parent to prisonstopping the paying parent getting or keeping a driving licence  The DWP publishes quarterly statistics on enforcement actions for the Child Maintenance Service Statistics (experimental). The latest statistics are available up to September 2022 and are available here. The available statistics for enforcement actions used by the CMS from April 2015 to September 2022 can be found in ‘Table 7.1: Enforcement Actions’ of the National tables.

Child Tax Credit: Universal Credit

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether people in receipt of child tax credit who are requested to migrate to Universal Credit but are ineligible to make such a claim are able to receive the transitional protections afforded to Universal Credit claimants.

Guy Opperman: All claimants will be assessed for eligibility to UC and for Transitional Protection if they make a claim. This includes those in receipt of child tax credit.

Social Security Benefits: Disqualification

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will publish his Department's internal evaluation of the effectiveness of sanctions.

Guy Opperman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the previous minister UIN 76098­.

Department for Work and Pensions: Standards

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many times his Department's Internal Process Review Group has met in the last two years; when it is next due to meet; and whether the agendas, minutes and attendance lists are publicly available.

Guy Opperman: The Internal Process Review Group has met 22 times since January 2021 and is next due to meet on 29 March 2023. Information in relation to the meetings is not published.

Social Security Benefits: Health

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, if he will authorise a proposed study by the University of Glasgow on the health impacts of customer interactions with his Department.

Guy Opperman: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 29 September 2022 to PQ 49671.

Employment Data Lab: Costs and Staff

Alison McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what the annual costs are of the Employment Data Lab; and how many people work in that lab.

Guy Opperman: The Employment Data Lab team consists of three analysts. There are no other ongoing costs associated with the Employment Data Lab.

Employment: Chronic Illnesses and  Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that (a) disabled people and (b) people with health conditions are fully consulted as part of its review of workforce participation.

Tom Pursglove: The Prime Minister has tasked the Secretary of State to look in detail at the issue of workforce participation, to identify and understand the barriers preventing people from joining the workforce, or resulting in people leaving the workforce early. Disabled people and people with health conditions are a key focus of this work.The department is working across government to identify and help address the causes of economic inactivity, building on the existing package of support to help disabled people and people with health conditions to start, stay and succeed in work.

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, whether his Department has made an assessment of the outcome of its testing of the Severe Disability Group.

Tom Pursglove: As announced in Shaping Future Support: The Health and Disability Green Paper, we are testing a new Severe Disability Group so that these people can benefit from a simplified process without ever needing to complete a detailed application form or go through an assessment. We will provide further information on the Severe Disability Group in the Health and Disability White Paper.

Ministry of Defence

Veterans UK: Surveys

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, with reference to the Answer by the Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families to the Question from the hon. Member for Barnsley East at Defence questions on 7 November 2022, Official Report, column 20, when the Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families will meet the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Veterans to discuss the outcome of the Veterans UK Survey.

Dr Andrew Murrison: Yes I will meet the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Veterans, I will arrange a suitable time shortly.

Ministry of Defence: Aviation

Sarah Olney: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will publish the (a) number and (b) destinations of all domestic flights taken by officials in his Department in each of the last five years.

Dr Andrew Murrison: The number of domestic flights taken by Ministry of Defence (MOD) officials for each of years between 2017-18 and 2020-21 are: 2017-18 - 25,018; 2018-19 - 24,003; 2019-20 - 25,334; 2020-21 - 1,432. These figures were reported under the Greening Government Commitments 2016 to 2020 on mitigating climate change. Operational travel of military personnel is excluded.Equivalent figure for 2021-22 is not readily available due to a change in Greening Government Commitments 2021 to 2025 from flight numbers to a carbon emissions reduction target. MOD emissions from domestic flights has reduced from 6,530tCO2e in 2017-18 to 2,460tCO2e in 2021-22.Central records are not kept of the individual departure and destination airports. MOD has a UK wide presence and travel time is a significant factor in determining the mode of transport for business travel for longer journeys.

Cawdor Barracks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what the (a) size in hectares and (b) Housing Unit Potential of Cawdor Barracks is.

Alex Chalk: Cawdor Barracks is 313.16 hectares in size. There is no Housing Unit Potential (HUP) recorded as we do not record HUP for devolved nations.

Cawdor Barracks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family and (b) single living accommodation units there are at Cawdor Barracks; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Alex Chalk: Cawdor Barracks has 148 Service Family Accommodation units and 581 Single Living Accommodation units. There are 526 regular and reserve posts based at Cawdor Barracks.

Hightown Barracks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, to ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at Hightown Barracks; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Alex Chalk: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer I gave to question 136503 on 3 February 2023.Hightown Barracks Housing (docx, 17.9KB)

Thiepval Barracks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family and (b) single living accommodation units there are at Thiepval Barracks; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Alex Chalk: Thiepval Barracks has 297 Service Family Accommodation 987 Single Living Accommodation units. There are 1,245 regular and reserve posts based at Thiepval Barracks.

Palace Barracks

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) service family accommodation and (b) single living accommodation units there are at Palace Barracks; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Alex Chalk: Palace Barracks has 256 Service Family Accommodation and 440 Single Living Accommodation units. There are 714 regular and reserve posts based at Palace Barracks.

RAF Aldergrove

John Healey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many (a) Service Family Accommodation and (b) Single Living Accommodation units there are at Aldergrove Barracks; and how many personnel are based at that site.

Alex Chalk: Aldergrove Flying Station has 348 Service Family Accommodation units and 870 Single Living Accommodation units. There are 696 regular and reserve posts based at Aldergrove Flying Station.

Military Aircraft: Helicopters

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2023 to Question 141352 on Military Aircraft: Helicopters, when the decision was made that the H135 helicopters procured for Project MATCHA would not enter service.

Alex Chalk: In November 2022 a decision was made that the H135 aircraft for project MATCHA were not required for their procured role. A decision is yet to be made on whether the aircraft will remain in Defence.

Home Office

Nuisance Calls

Alex Norris: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to prevent scam calls.

Tom Tugendhat: Tackling fraud requires a unified and co-ordinated response from government, law enforcement and the private sector and we will shortly publish a new strategy to address the threat of fraud, including through scam calls.The Government has already taken a range of actions to reduce the number of scam calls. We have sanctioned the banning of cold calls from personal injury firms and pension providers, unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to be contacted, and introduced director liability for companies in relation to nuisance calls.Through the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) we have imposed strict obligations on organisations that make direct marketing calls, live or automated, to individuals in the UK.We continue to support National Trading Standards on the roll out of call blocking devices to vulnerable people and the National Economic Crime Centre have recently provided further funding for the delivery of additional devices. These devices have helped to provide protection against nuisance and scam calls.We are working closely with Ofcom, the telecoms and financial industries, and law enforcement to identify further measures to tackle fraudulent calls and number spoofing, and to block fraudsters operating overseas from making calls to defraud the public.We strongly advise anybody who suspects a call to be suspicious to report this to the National Cyber Security Centre, by logging an information report here: https://report.ncsc.gov.uk/, and to Action Fraud, the UK’s reporting service for fraud. Silent or abandoned calls can be reported to Ofcom, while recorded marketing calls can be reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).

Hate Crime: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help prevent hate crime against disabled people.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent steps her Department has taken to help encourage individuals to report hate crime against disabled people.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many disability hate crime reports resulted in a charge in each of the last five years.

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many disability hate crime reports resulted in a court summons in each of the last five years.

Miss Sarah Dines: Hate crime is a scourge on communities across the country. It does not reflect the values of modern Britain.All forms of hate crime, including disability hate crime, are completely unacceptable. We expect the police to fully investigate these hateful attacks and make sure the cowards who commit them feel the full force of the law.Our absolute priority is to get more police onto our streets, cut crime, protect the public and bring more criminals to justice. We are supporting the police by providing them with the resources they need, including recruiting 20,000 extra police officers. To tackle online hate crime, including disability hate crime, we fund a National Online Hate Crime Hub, which is a central police capability designed to support forces in dealing with online hate crime. The hub includes a public reporting portal and provides expert advice to forces to support them in investigating these offences.The Home Office collects and publishes data on the proportion of disability hate crime offences which resulted in a charge or summons for selected offence groups in an annual statistical bulletin on hate crime. Data for 2021/22 can be found in Figure 2.8 of the publication, available here: Hate crime, England and Wales, 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).Data for previous years can be found in the respective annual publications.

Youth Endowment Fund: Lancashire

Paul Maynard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish a list of projects funded by the Youth Endowment Fund in (a) Blackpool and (b) Lancashire.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Youth Endowment Fund have funded the following the projects in Blackpool and Lancashire:Multiple projects within the Covid-19 Grant Round:Blackpool FC Community TrustPreston North End Community and Education TrustArtz for All C.I.CClarets in the CommunityThe Blessed Edward Bamber Catholic Multi Academy TrustChild Action NorthwestBlackburn with Darwen Borough Council.We Are With You.Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.Respect (Essex model delivered in Lancashire Association of Boys and Girls Clubs).

Gender Based Violence

Henry Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans for the measures in the Strategic Policing Requirement 2023 on violence against women and girls to apply to violence against men and boys.

Miss Sarah Dines: The Government remains committed to supporting all victims and survivors of abusive and violent crimes including, but not limited to, rape and other sexual offences, domestic abuse, stalking, ‘honour’-based abuse (including female genital mutilation forced marriage, and ‘honour’ killings), as well as many others, including offences committed online.We use the term VAWG, including within the SPR, as it refers to acts of violence or abuse we know disproportionately, but not exclusively, affect women and girls.The use of the term cannot and should not negate the experiences of, or the provisions for, male victims.

Visas: British National (Overseas)

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many British National Overseas visa applications from Hong Kong nationals were processed in each of the last three years.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office publishes data on the number of applications, grants, and refusals of leave of people from Hong Kong on the British National Overseas (BN(O)) route in the “How many people come to the UK each year (including visitors)?” topic and underlying datasets of the ‘Immigration Statistics Quarterly Release’.The latest data for the BN(O) route relates to the year ending December 2022. These statistics include data on main applicants and dependants.

Antisocial Behaviour

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many applications for community trigger anti-social behaviour case reviews were (a) received, (b) accepted and (c) rejected in each year since 2015.

Chris Philp: The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 introduced specific measures designed to give victims and communities a say in the way that complaints of anti-social behaviour are dealt with. The Community Trigger, also known as the anti-social behaviour case review, gives victims of persistent anti-social behaviour the ability to demand a formal case review (where a locally defined threshold is met), in order to determine whether there is further action which can be taken.Data on the use of the ASB powers locally is not collated centrally. The powers in the 2014 Act are deliberately local in nature and it is for local agencies to determine whether their use is appropriate in specific circumstances.

Electric Scooters

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make it her policy that all police forces hold data on the number of privately owned e-scooters that they have (a) stopped and (b) seized.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not collect data on vehicle stops (i.e. stops made under section 163).The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE’ publication.However, data is not collected on the type of vehicle (including e-scooters) for which the FPN or any other outcome is issued.Information that is recorded by the police that is not a requirement under the Annual Data Requirement is an operational matter for forces and a decision for Chief Constables to make.

Electric Scooters

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to help ensure (a) consistency and (b) effectiveness of police enforcement of regulations on the use of private e-scooters in (i) Hampshire and (ii) the UK.

Chris Philp: Enforcement of road traffic law, including on the use of private e-scooters in Hampshire and nationally, is an operational matter for the police to determine in conjunction with local policing plans. The force’s Chief Officer will decide how to deploy available resources, taking into account any specific local problems and demands.The Government is working with the National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) to explore options to reduce illegal e-scooter use. The Government will continue to support the police to ensure they have the tools needed to enforce road traffic legislation, including those relating to private e-scooters.

Electric Scooters: Portsmouth

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many riders of privately owned e-scooters have been stopped by police in Portsmouth since March 2021.

Chris Philp: The Home Office does not collect data on vehicle stops (i.e. stops made under section 163).The Home Office collects and publishes information on the number of fixed penalty notices and other outcomes for motoring offences as part of the annual ‘Police Powers and Procedures: Other PACE’ publication.However, data is not collected on the type of vehicle (including e-scooters) for which the FPN or any other outcome is issued.Information that is recorded by the police that is not a requirement under the Annual Data Requirement is an operational matter for forces and a decision for Chief Constables to make.

Members: Correspondence

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the letter of 20 January 2023 from the hon. Member for Greenwich and Woolwich on the Disclosure and Barring Service.

Chris Philp: A reply from the Minister for Safeguarding will be provided as soon as possible.

Firearms: Licensing

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she plans to take to ensure that people who (a) have a history of and (b) are under investigation for domestic violence are not issued with a firearm licence.

Rachael Maskell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the Statement made on 21 February 2023 on Plymouth Shootings, in what way her Department plans to take into account concerns raised about a person applying for or renewing a fire-arms license in future.

Chris Philp: The safety of the public is our first priority and alongside this, the Government has been taking steps to strengthen firearms licensing. The Statutory Guidance, which sets out clearly the stringent checks that the police need to undertake when assessing the suitability of firearms licence applicants, was refreshed on 14 February following a review after its first year in operation.Those who are licensed to possess firearms must not pose a danger to themselves or others and the Statutory Guidance sets out the additional checks the police must carry out in relation to domestic abuse where there is information that this is relevant. Depending on the individual case, these checks should include interviews with partners, relatives or friends or others living at the address, as well as interviews with previous partners and checks with the force domestic abuse unit and Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hubs. When assessing the suitability of a person to have a firearms licence, domestic violence is considered to be a most serious factor, and if there is evidence of domestic violence being perpetrated by the applicant, it will usually mean that the application is refused unless there are exceptional circumstances in that particular case.Following the conclusion on Monday 20 February of the inquest into the tragic shootings which occurred in Keyham in August 2021, and the issuing of a report from the Independent Office for Police Conduct into the shootings and the report following a recent inquiry by the Scottish Affairs Committee into firearms licensing, we are giving urgent but careful consideration to recommendations made to the Home Office about firearms licensing.

Members: Correspondence

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to respond to the correspondence from the hon. Member for Lewisham East of 9 February 2023, reference JD32674.

Chris Philp: I have received and noted the Honourable Member’s correspondence and will be replying in the near future.

Visas: Carer's Allowance

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether financial exemptions are in place for British nationals in receipt of carers allowance when applying for a visa for (a) their spouse or (b) a parent of their child.

Robert Jenrick: Appendix FM of the Immigration Rules contains an exemption from the minimum income requirement, for those applying for a spouse, child or parent visa, where the sponsor is in receipt of certain benefits. This includes carers allowance. Instead, they need to show that they can meet the adequate maintenance requirement, as set out in Appendix FM-SE of the Immigration Rules.

Asylum: Applications

Seema Malhotra: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an estimate of the number and proportion of asylum-seekers from (a) Afghanistan, (b) Eritrea, (c) Libya, (d) Syria and (e) Yemen who are able to write English to an A2 standard in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages.

Robert Jenrick: If necessary, claimants can utilise legal representatives, Non-Government Organisations and other support networks to help them respond to the questionnaire.

Immigration

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she will publish a response to each of the five recommendations in the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration Report A reinspection of family reunion applications September to October 2022.

Robert Jenrick: The Secretary of State for the Home Department has fully accepted all the recommendations made in the report by the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration regarding family reunion applications.The response was published on 21 February 2023 and is available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/response-to-report-on-a-re-inspection-of-family-reunion-applications/home-office-response-to-report-on-re-inspection-of-family-reunion-applications.

Visas: Applications

Matt Western: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February 2023 to Question 137918, what assessment she has made of the impact of the absence of 2022 data on complaints, refunds and processing times on the monitoring of super priority visa applications.

Robert Jenrick: The technical issue that has prevented the release of customer service standards data for 2022 relates to the wider transition of immigration caseworking from a legacy IT system to the new Atlas system. As part of that change, published datasets relating to immigration casework have also had to be transitioned to new systems. The majority of published datasets have been maintained during this transition.In the case of data on customer service standards, key data attributes needed to calculate performance against the standards for quarterly publication have only recently become available in statistical data systems, as part of the planned transition process. As such, customer service standards data is expected to be reintroduced from the 2023 Quarter 1 migration transparency data release in May.There is no impact on our monitoring of super priority visa (SPV) performance and we continue to offer SPV across a range of routes for our customers applying both overseas and in the UK.

Undocumented Migrants: English Channel

Sir Bill Wiggin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to help prevent migrants crossing the channel in small boats.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office is working at pace to introduce legislation to tackle illegal migration.The Bill will deliver the Prime Minister’s commitment, as set out in his oral statement on 13 December 2022 (Official Report, column 885 to 888), “to make it unambiguously clear that, if you enter the UK illegally, you should not be able to remain here. Instead, you will be detained and swiftly returned either to your home country or to a safe country where your asylum claim will be considered. You will no longer be able to frustrate removal attempts with late or spurious claims or appeals, and once removed, you should have no right to re-entry, settlement or citizenship.”Further details will be set out in due course.

Asylum: Children

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make an assessment of the potential merits of establishing an independent inquiry into the disappearance of children from accommodation managed by her Department.

Robert Jenrick: The rise in the number of small boat crossings has placed significant pressures on local authority care placements for young people. Out of necessity, and with the best interests of the child in mind, we have had no alternative but to temporarily use hotels to give some unaccompanied children a roof over their heads whilst Local Authority accommodation is found.We take the safety and welfare of those in our care seriously and the Home Office has robust safeguarding procedures in place to ensure those in our accommodation are as safe and supported as possible as we seek urgent placements with a local authority. Young people are supported by team leaders and support workers who are on site 24 hours a day. Further care is provided in hotels by teams of specialist social workers and nurses. We have no power to detain UASC in hotels. Children’s movements in and out of hotels are monitored and recorded and they are accompanied by support workers when attending organised activities and social excursions off-site, or where specific vulnerabilities are identified. When any young person goes missing the ‘missing persons protocol’ is followed and led by our directly engaged social workers. A multi-agency, missing persons protocol is mobilised alongside the police and local authorities, to establish their whereabouts and to ensure that they are safe.

Homes for Ukraine Scheme: Visas

Drew Hendry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what recent assessment she has made of the adequacy of processing times for visas under the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Robert Jenrick: UKVI aims to assess all Ukraine Schemes visa applications as quickly as possible and straightforward applications are processed within a matter of days. It is right, however, that visas are only issued after all necessary checks have been completed which may take longer on some cases.As of 24 February 2022, the UK Government has issued 219,723 visas under the Ukraine Schemes, of which over 150,000 visas have been issued under the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.

Asylum: Temporary Accommodation

Christopher Pincher: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of asylum seekers housed in temporary accommodation in (a) Tamworth district, (b) Lichfield district, (c) Staffordshire and (d) England have been refused leave to remain in the UK.

Robert Jenrick: The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of supported asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at Asylum and resettlement datasets Asylum and resettlement datasets – GOV.UK under the document Asylum seekers in receipt of support (second edition): Asylum and resettlement datasets - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).The Home Office publish data on the number of people who have been granted and refused asylum in the UK and this can be found in the Asy_04 tab of the quarterly Immigration Statistics release:Immigration statistics data tables, year ending December 2022 - GOV.UK (List of tables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)).

Biometric Residence Permits

Afzal Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment she has made of the impact of IT issues in her Department on (a) the production of Biometric Resident Permits since 1 March 2022, (b) the number of individuals who have had a permit printed and (c) individuals waiting for permits.

Robert Jenrick: Due to disproportionate costs UKVI does not hold the recourse to determine how many technical faults have affected (a) the production of Biometric Resident Permits since 1 March 2022, (b) the number of individuals who have had a permit printed and (c) individuals waiting for permits.However, where an application may require technical intervention or support, our processes and procedures have been strengthened to proactively address technical issues as they are identified. If you require further information regarding Visa processing times, this can be found on the UKVI website at Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk). UKVI are currently processing applications on all its main visa routes within customer service standards.

Visas: Temporary Employment

Stephen Farry: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many and what proportion of applications for (a) tier five and (b) other temporary worker visas were accepted after the requested start date; and what the average time was between the date of the requested start and the acceptance of the application in the latest period for which data is available.

Robert Jenrick: The Home Office does not routinely publish data on these specific matters.Details of the visa decision waiting times can be found on the Home Office website at:Visa decision waiting times: applications outside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)Visa decision waiting times: applications inside the UK - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

Asylum: Children

Matthew Pennycook: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will publish new police guidance on locating missing asylum-seeking children.

Chris Philp: Police guidance is a matter for the College of Policing, which is operationally independent of the Home Office. The Authorised Professional Practice (APP) for missing persons is publicly available on the College’s website and sets out best practice guidance for all missing person investigations, including missing migrant children, for police forces in England and Wales.In addition to the APP, the National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for Missing Persons is developing advice for forces on the police response to missing migrant children. Other safeguarding agencies and third sector organisations are involved in drafting this advice which should be published this Spring, subject to consultation with relevant partners

Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

Absent Voting: Proof of Identity

Angela Rayner: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Answer of 12 April 2021 to Question 179209 on Absent Voting: Proof of Identity, whether it is his policy that people applying for a postal vote are required to show additional forms of photo identification.

Lee Rowley: I refer the Rt. Hon. Member to the answer to Question UIN 179209 on 15 April 2021.

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council

Sir Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January to Question 119880 on Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, whether he will appoint the Chief Executive of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council as the reviewer of that Council's governance and finance arrangements; and if he will make a statement.

Lee Rowley: The arrangements for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council’s governance and finance review have been finalised and it will commence shortly. It is important that any assurance review is independent, although the views of statutory officers and others at the council will be considered as well as the views of local Members of Parliament.

Letting Agents: Regulation

Alec Shelbrooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the independent report entitled Regulation of Property Agents: working group report, published on 18 July 2019, what assessment he has made of the implications for his Department's policies of that report's findings; and when he plans to bring forward legislative proposals on regulating service charges on new build estates.

Rachel Maclean: As part of a fair and just housing system, the Government is committed to making sure that homeowners and tenants are protected from abuse and poor service. This commitment includes raising professionalism and standards amongst property agents (letting, estate and managing agents), protecting consumers while defending the reputation of good agents from the actions of rogue operatives. We therefore welcome the ongoing work being undertaken by the industry itself to raise professionalism and standards across the sector, including on codes of practice for property agents. The Government is considering the recommendations in the final report on the regulation of property agents from Lord Best’s working group. We will continue to work with industry on improving best practice.When parliamentary time allows, the Government intends to legislate to ensure that freehold homeowners who pay estate rentcharges have the right to challenge their reasonableness and to go to the tribunal to appoint a manager to manage the provision of services.

Derelict Land: Property Development

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what steps his Department will take to prioritise development on brownfield land instead of on Green Belt and greenfield land.

Rachel Maclean: I refer the Hon Member to the answer to Question UIN 129970 on 31 January 2023.

Private Rented Housing: Standards

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Citizen's Advice report entitled Damp, cold and full of mould: the reality of housing in the private rented sector, published in February 2023, whether he has made an assessment of the implications for his Department’s policies of that report's recommendations.

Rachel Maclean: We share the concerns of Citizens Advice. That is why we wrote to local authorities last year regarding improving conditions for private tenants, particularly around dangerous damp and mould.We published our white paper 'A fairer private rented sector' in June 2022, setting out our plans to drive up quality in privately rented homes.

Regional Planning and Development

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if his Department will issue guidance on the extent of the powers of National Development Management Policies..

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether he plans to ensure that National Development Management Policies do not override policies by Local Planning Authorities.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, if he will make it his policy to ensure that (a) local development plans retain their primacy in law and can provide for local variations to National Development Management Policies where there is a local justification to do so and (b) changes to National Development Management Policies are subject to public consultation and parliamentary scrutiny.

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of current planning policies in distinguishing between (a) demand for housing, (b) housing need and (c) the level of housing provision essential for well-being and welfare.

Rachel Maclean: The Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill - currently being scrutinised in the other place - sets out the proposed legal basis for National Development Management Policies, including their consultation requirements. We are currently consulting on changes to national planning policy. The prospectus consults on a range of changes to national planning policy that are intended to introduce greater clarity on the circumstances in which local authorities can adjust the number of homes planned for to account for local circumstances. We will carefully analyse the responses to the consultation, and any subsequent changes in policy will be confirmed when the Framework is updated later in 2023.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Lloyd Russell-Moyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when projects due to receive Shared Prosperity funding in October 2022 will receive that funding.

Dehenna Davison: All lead local authorities were informed on 5 December 2022 that their investment plans were approved, and the majority of local authorities have received their Year 1 payments.

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Innovation and Research: Expenditure

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to Table 8 of the Office for National Statistics dataset entitled Business enterprise research and development UK: 2021, published on 22 November 2022, if she will make an assessment of the reasons for the decrease in expenditure on R&D performed in the accommodation and food service activities Standard Industry Classification division between 2019 and 2021.

George Freeman: Table 8 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D performed by businesses by SIC division. This included the following estimates: 2018201920202021Total UK business R&D£40,993m£42,184m£43,995m£46,929mAccommodation and food service activities£112m£301m£233m£143mThe new ONS BERD data shows different SIC divisions with different changes within an overall increase in total R&D expenditure. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D expenditure at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Innovation and Research: Expenditure

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Office for National Statistics dataset entitled Business enterprise research and development UK, published on 22 November 2022, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of research and development expenditure in the (a) public administration and defence and (b) compulsory social security and education Standard Industrial Classification divisions in the period between 2020 and 2021.

George Freeman: Table 8 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D performed by businesses by SIC division. This included the following estimates: 2018201920202021Total UK business R&D£40,993m£42,184m£43,995m£46,929mPublic administration and defence; compulsory social security and education£228m£261m£414m£306mThe new ONS BERD data shows different SIC divisions with different changes within an overall increase in total R&D expenditure. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D expenditure at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Innovation and Research: Expenditure

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Office for National Statistics dataset entitled Business enterprise research and development UK, published on 22 November 2022, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of research and development expenditure in the (a) human health and (b) social work activities Standard Industrial Classification divisions in the period between 2020 and 2021.

George Freeman: Table 8 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D performed by businesses by SIC division. This included the following estimates: 2018201920202021Total UK business R&D£40,993m£42,184m£43,995m£46,929mHuman health and social work activities£268m£447m£721m£474mThe new ONS BERD data shows different SIC divisions with different changes within an overall increase in total R&D expenditure. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D expenditure at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Innovation and Research: Expenditure

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the Office for National Statistics dataset entitled Business enterprise research and development UK, published on 22 November 2022, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of trends in the level of research and development expenditure in the (a) water supply, (b) sewerage, (c) waste management and (d) remediation activities Standard Industrial Classification divisions in the period between 2020 and 2021.

George Freeman: Table 8 of the ONS BERD release included figures for R&D performed by businesses by SIC division. This included the following estimates: 2018201920202021Total UK business R&D£40,993m£42,184m£43,995m£46,929mWater supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities£79m£120m£171m£100mThe new ONS BERD data shows different SIC divisions with different changes within an overall increase in total R&D expenditure. The ONS figures provide the current best estimate of R&D expenditure at the total UK level which have been validated against other available data. However, there is less data for validation and increased uncertainty in the estimates below the total BERD figures. The Government looks forward to further improvements from the ONS in how the BERD statistics are compiled in future releases.

Clinical Trials: Reviews

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, with reference to the press release entitled Lord O'Shaughnessy to lead independent review into UK clinical trials, published on 20 February 2023, what the salary for leading the review is.

George Freeman: Lord O’Shaughnessy has been appointed as Chair for the independent review into UK clinical trials. Lord O’Shaughnessy is not a government official and the role is unpaid.

Innovation and Research

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2023 to Question 132389 on Innovation and Research, what discussions she has held with (a) the Russel Group and (b) individual universities on the location of clusters.

Chi Onwurah: To ask Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology, pursuant to the Answer of 25 January 2023 to Question 132389 on Innovation and Research, what discussions she has had with North East Universities on clustering of innovation in the North East.

George Freeman: The Department and officials regularly engage with universities and university bodies, including the Russell Group, on a range of issues and is working on a new interactive cluster mapping tool.Universities play important roles in their local economies including through education, skills, research, working with local businesses and as employers.The Department supports universities to further this economic role by funding schemes such as Higher Education Innovation Funding which incentivises universities to work with businesses, public and third sector organisations to increase the economic and societal benefit from their work.The Connecting Capability Fund which supports universities in sharing good practice in knowledge exchange and commercialisation has supported the Northern Accelerator initiative which has brought together universities in the Northeast to boost their commercialisation activity.

Department for Business and Trade

Energy: Investment

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent assessment she has made of the potential impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act on the (a) competitiveness, (b) investment potential and (c) decarbonisation of the UK automotive industry.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government is determined to ensure the UK remains one of the best locations in the world for automotive manufacturing and engages regularly with industry to understand the impacts of the Inflation Reduction Act (the Act). We are working internationally to understand and minimise the impacts on British business and have also provided a response to the US Treasury consultation on the implementation of the Act. We continue to engage with the US across multiple channels to resolve issues and remain committed to robustly defending the interests of UK industry affected by the policies.

Business: Working Hours

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the findings of the recent Four Day Week pilot involving 61 UK businesses.

Kevin Hollinrake: The Government does not believe there can be a ‘one size fits all’ approach to work arrangements. That is why our policy leaves space for employers and employees to agree suitable arrangements for their particular circumstances. The Right to Request Flexible Working allows employees to apply for changes to the hours, timing or location of work. In December 2022, the Government published its response to the consultation “making flexible working the default”[1]. This committed to make changes to the Right to Request Flexible Working to boost availability, several of which are being taken forward through the Employment Relations (Flexible Working) Bill[2]. [1] https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/making-flexible-working-the-default[2] https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/3198

British Shipbuilders Corporation: Workplace Pensions

Gareth Thomas: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, how many pension claims from former employees the of British Shipbuilders Corporation there were in each year since 2010; and if she will make a statement.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 27th February 2023, UIN 146756.

Post Offices: Closures

Dr Rupa Huq: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department has made an assessment of the impact on customers of the potential closure of Royal Mail customer service points.

Kevin Hollinrake: Decisions on the closure of customer service points are an operational matter for Royal Mail, provided they meet Ofcom’s regulatory requirement on Royal Mail, as the Designated Universal Service Provider, to provide access points for the universal service.  Whilst the Government has no role in Royal Mail’s operational decisions, I understand that Royal Mail has completed the first stage of its review of customer service points and decided to maintain the current estate.

British Steel: Scunthorpe

Charlotte Nichols: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether she has had discussions with British Steel on the closure of the coking plant in Scunthorpe.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The previous Business Secretary had discussions with British Steel which covered the potential closure of the coking ovens, amongst broader matters. He urged British Steel not to make any irreversible decisions whilst negotiations were ongoing, but this was ultimately a commercial decision.I am in regular contact with the company, unions and other partners, as are Government officials. The Government stands ready to support employees affected by British Steel’s decision, and we continue working with British Steel on a plan for a long-term, sustainable future.

Royal Mail: Standards

Sir Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what recent discussions she has had with Ofcom on the full resumption of Royal Mail's international delivery service.

Kevin Hollinrake: I have not had any discussions with Ofcom on the resumption of Royal Mail’s international delivery services, however the Government welcomes Royal Mail’s recent announcement that it has resumed international export services to all destinations.

Royal Mail: Cybercrime

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, whether her Department offered support to Royal Mail to help resolve the ransomware attack on 10 January 2023; and whether her Department had discussions with Royal Mail on (a) compensation for sub-postmasters who lost trade arising from the ransomware attack and (b) sustaining sub-postmasters income as they offer more services online.

Kevin Hollinrake: The cyber incident affecting Royal Mail is an operational matter for the business to address. Royal Mail has been working with the National Cyber Security Centre and law enforcement partners to resolve the incident. The Department has had no discussions with Royal Mail on compensation for sub-postmasters or sustaining sub-postmasters’ income. These are contractual matters for the two businesses.

Britishvolt: Insolvency

Bill Esterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what assessment she has made of the impact of Britishvolt entering administration on the (a) competitiveness and (b) decarbonisation of the UK automotive industry.

Ms Nusrat Ghani: The Government has had no formal role in the administration process, and it would not be appropriate to comment on commercial matters. We remain committed to developing a globally competitive EV supply chain in the UK and continue to work with industry to unlock private investment via the Automotive Transformation Fund, delivering a UK-led transition to Net Zero. As part of our commitment to strengthening the UK’s competitiveness, the Government recently announced further measures designed to reduce the long-term electricity price gap that exists between UK Energy Intensive Industries and competitor countries.

Agricultural Products: Food

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what estimate he has made of the value of the plant-based food market to the UK; and whether his Department has made an estimate of the potential for future growth of that market.

Kevin Hollinrake: The UK Government has not made an appraisal of this sector. Market intelligence agency, Euromonitor, estimates that the UK market for meat and seafood substitutes (which covers the plant-based food market) was worth around £667m in 2022. Euromonitor forecasts that the UK market for meat and seafood substitutes will grow by approximately 13% by the end of 2023.

Zero Hours Contracts

Justin Madders: To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, with reference to Table 17 of the EMP17: People in employment on zero hours contracts data released on 14 February 2023, what assessment she has made of the implications for her policies of the increase in the proportion of those on a zero hour contract in temporary work between the October to December period in 2021 and the same period in 2022.

Kevin Hollinrake: Zero hours contracts are an important part of the UK’s flexible labour market, they are useful where there is not a constant demand for staff, allowing flexibility for both employers and individuals – like carers, people studying, or retirees. For this small group, a zero hours contract may be the type of contract which works best for them. Research from The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) found that 65% of zero hours contract workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, which is similar to the proportion of employees as a whole (63%) [2015]. The Government is supporting a Private Member’s Bill which will introduce a new right for workers – especially those on zero hours contracts - to request a more predictable working pattern.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what criteria must be met in order for an individual to be eligible to receive the Warm Home Discount.

Graham Stuart: There are two ways for households in England and Wales to be eligible for a rebate:Core Group 1: In receipt of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit.Core Group 2: Both in receipt of a qualifying means-tested benefit or Tax Credit and living in a property with estimated high relative heating costs, calculated on the basis of property characteristics. There are two ways for households in Scotland to be eligible:Core Group: In receipt of the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit.Broader Group: Customers must apply through their energy supplier, which may set additional criteria on top of the minimum eligibility criteria set by the Government. Further information on the eligibility criteria, including about qualifying dates and being named on the bill, can be found on GOV.UK at: https://www.gov.uk/the-warm-home-discount-scheme.

Warm Home Discount Scheme

Ruth Cadbury: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether there is a minimum floor size for a property to be eligible to receive the Warm Home Discounts.

Graham Stuart: The Government has reformed the Warm Home Discount scheme in England and Wales to focus the support on low-income households living in properties with the highest estimated heating costs. To estimate the relative heating costs, the Government has used data on the type, size, and age of the property. As a result, the minimum floor size eligible depends on the age and type of property. This year the smallest eligible floor size is a minimum of 39 metres squared.

Energy Bills Rebate: Meters

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an estimate of the value of unclaimed Energy Bill Support Scheme prepayment meter vouchers in (a) England, (b) the North West, (c) Wirral and (d) Wallasey constituency.

Graham Stuart: The Government publishes data for the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) for Great Britain at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-support-scheme-payments-made-by-electricity-suppliers-to-customers. Households received EBSS support worth £66 for October and November and £67 for December – March. The Government does not hold data on voucher redemptions by month of issue so is unable provide a specific value. The data below shows October, November and December vouchers issued and redeemed. The percentage of EBSS vouchers yet to be redeemed is 31% in England, 29% in the North West and in Wirral and 30% in Wallasey. RegionOctober, November and December 2022 number of vouchers issuedOctober, November and December 2022 number of vouchers redeemed% redeemed England4,888,1503,356,70069%North West753,210535,36071%Wirral (local authority)41,08029,09071%Wallasey (constituency)13,3809,39070%

Energy Bills Rebate: Meters

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, if he will make an assessment of the reasons why some prepayment meter customers have not redeemed their entitlement of vouchers under the Energy Bill Support Scheme; and what steps he is taking to help people reedem those vouchers.

Graham Stuart: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Birkenhead on 1st March to Question 149667.

Energy Bills Rebate: Meters

Dame Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has made an assessment of the potential merits of requiring energy suppliers to credit prepayment meter customers with the value of the Energy Bill Support Scheme vouchers.

Graham Stuart: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Birkenhead on 1st March to Question 149668.

Third Sector: Energy

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department takes to support charitable and third sector organisations to source capital funding for energy efficiency works in their buildings.

Graham Stuart: The Government keeps energy efficiency support for all non-domestic organisations, including charitable and third sector organisations, under review. Existing initiatives which may be applicable include an exemption on business rates for green technology and providing grants under the Boiler Upgrade Scheme The Government are reviewing what levers can be introduced to help organisations to be more energy efficient, including financial support. As part of this, the Government has launched a new Energy Efficiency Taskforce to help achieve its target to reduce its energy consumption from buildings and industry by 15% by 2030.

Energy Bills Rebate: Third Sector

Darren Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the Energy Bill Discount Scheme on the charitable and third sector's ability to pay its energy bills.

Graham Stuart: An HMT-led review into the operation of the current Energy Bill Relief Scheme was conducted with the objective of significantly reducing the overall burden on public finances, and ensuring support is targeted at those most in need and unable to adjust to recent energy price rises. During the review of the Energy Bill Relief Scheme, analysis of many contributions from the private sector, trade associations, the voluntary sector and other types of organisations were assessed.The new Energy Bill Discount Scheme will run from April until March 2024 and continue to provide a discount to eligible non-domestic customers, including charities.

Energy: Meters

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of establishing a framework whereby energy suppliers directly credit the energy accounts of households in cases of un-redeemed pre-payment vouchers.

Graham Stuart: For the Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS), the Government undertook extensive engagement with suppliers, assessed the available technology in place for prepayment meters and used experience from previous support schemes. This indicated that vouchers were the most effective way of reaching prepayment meter customers as they do not have accounts which can readily be credited directly by the supplier. Customers have been widely urged to redeem their vouchers promptly. Latest figures indicate 76% have been redeemed. Expired vouchers can be reissued by the supplier but all must be redeemed by 30 June 2023.

Energy: Meters

Mick Whitley: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what steps his Department has taken to support households which require further assistance in understanding the process to redeem energy pre-payment vouchers.

Graham Stuart: The Government has carried out extensive communications including through the Help for Households campaign, via charities and consumer groups, through community radio, translated materials and the media. This work continues alongside enhanced effort by electricity suppliers to reach customers with unused vouchers. I have raised this with a number of city region mayors and have provided resources for Local Authorities to use with their local networks. The Government will shortly be sharing these resources with Hon. Members to use within their constituencies. The Department continues to work with stakeholders to ensure every effort is made to reach all eligible households.

Carbon Capture, Usage and Storage

Martin Vickers: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when the (a) guidance on, (b) timeline for and (c) selection criteria for track 2 of the CCUS Cluster Sequencing Programme will be published.

Graham Stuart: The Government is committed to supporting four CCUS clusters to deployment by 2030. Track-2 of the Cluster Sequencing Programme will add further clusters to fulfil this commitment and deliver an additional capture and storage capacity of at least 10Mtpa. The Government is continuing to develop the Track-2 process, building on our experience of sequencing the Track-1 clusters. Further details will be set out in the Spring.

Ofgem: Standards

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 141723 on Ofgem: Standards, how the effectiveness of these reforms will be assessed; and how regularly this assessment will take place.

Graham Stuart: The Government is working to develop its Strategy and Policy Statement (SPS) for energy policy in Great Britain. This key document will provide Ofgem with a strategic framework to deliver the Government’s energy policy ambitions. Once this in place, Ofgem will have to report to the Government annually on its progress in achieving the strategic priorities and policy outcomes set out in the SPS

Energy: Meters

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 142820 on Energy: Meters, what steps his Department will take against suppliers that refuse to be transparent with their data.

Graham Stuart: Suppliers have responded to my Rt. Hon. Friend the Secretary of State regarding data on the number of warrants sought and executed in 2022. The Government and Ofgem will verify this data and will publish it in due course.

Utilities: Licensing

Dan Carden: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2023 to Question 142817 on Utilities: Licensing, what plans the Government has to assess the outcomes of the Market Compliance Reviews; and what steps he is taking to help ensure Ofgem is able to take action where suppliers have fallen short of their obligations.

Graham Stuart: Ofgem, as the independent regulator, is responsible for the enforcement of licence conditions on suppliers in the energy market. Ofgem has recently informed suppliers not to wait for the outcome of their reviews and to act now to check that prepayment meters have been installed appropriately, and if rules have been broken, offer customers a reversal of installations and compensation payments where appropriate.

Renewable Energy

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what plans he has to incentivise accredited generating stations for the eligible renewable electricity they produce following the phasing out of Renewable Obligation Certificates and the Renewable Heat Incentive.

Graham Stuart: The Government is considering the best market arrangements to ensure existing assets are properly valued for their renewable generation. The Renewable Heat Incentive made payments to participants for renewable heat generation, not electricity.

Biofuels

Martyn Day: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of offering further support to the waste wood biomass sector to protect the baseload power they produce and to adopt carbon capture and storage capability for (a ) ensuring the UK's energy security and (b) achieving Net Zero.

Graham Stuart: The Government recognises the important contribution that the waste wood biomass sector contributes to energy security and net zero goals. Waste wood is already eligible for support under the Renewables Obligation and the Contracts for Difference schemes. The Government consulted on a First of a Kind business model for biomass power with carbon capture and storage in August 2022 and will publish our response later this year.

Energy: Prices

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, whether his Department has plans to take steps to support disabled people with the cost of energy after 2024.

Graham Stuart: The Autumn Statement set out a commitment to work with consumer groups and industry to consider the best approach to consumer protection from April 2024, including options such as social tariffs, as part of wider retail market reforms. Officials are considering the options and proactively discussing these with stakeholders. As part of this work, we are working with disability organisations to assess the need for specific support for disabled people and we will set out our position when this assessment is complete.

Buildings: Energy

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, when a plan to develop building retrofit skills will be published; and how that plan will integrate with the aims and objectives of the planned energy efficiency taskforce.

Graham Stuart: The Construction Industry Training Board report estimated that 12,000 workers would need to be trained each year to 2025 to improve the fabric energy efficiency of every building in the country. We are investing in retrofit skills through our £9.2m home decarbonisation skills competition. At present we do not intend to publish a plan for building retrofit skills. However an area of focus for the new Energy Efficiency Taskforce (EETF) will be to stimulate the supply chain to address and increase investment, reduce skills gaps and accelerate pathways to accreditation. The first meeting of the EETF will be held in March. The Terms of Reference for the EETF can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-efficiency-taskforce-terms-of-reference/energy-efficiency-taskforce-terms-of-reference.

Cabinet Office

Cabinet Office: Recruitment

Christine Jardine: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, how much his Department has spent on headhunters in each of the last three years.

Jeremy Quin: Cabinet Office will on most occasions procure recruitment consultancy services through Crown Commercial Service (“CCS”) Framework Agreements. Procuring through CCS Framework Agreements delivers consistency and efficiency savings through providing a range of benefits, such as:Access to pre-assessed capable and proven suppliers;Reducing the need for repeat campaigns;Capped maximum costs protecting from market price increases;Notable saving against market rates on average;No hidden costs of service; andVendors may agree to further discounts for large campaigns.Venders are also aware of, and must support, government diversity and inclusion requirements when providing their services.The relevant CCS Framework relating to recruitment consultancy services was established in November 2018 and its first year was a transitional year. Spend incurred by Cabinet Office in the first two full years post-transition are £216,868 for financial year 2020-21 and £206,048 for financial year 2021-22.The Cabinet Office continues to encourage the use of the CCS Framework across the Department as standard.

Treasury

Tax Avoidance

Daisy Cooper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 23 February 2023 to Question 147156 on Tax Avoidance: how many (a) open enquiries and (b) active assessments relating to disguised remuneration schemes used before 9 December 2010 are outstanding.

Victoria Atkins: HM Revenue and Customs currently has around 15,000 open compliance checks in respect of individual taxpayers who used DR tax avoidance schemes before 9 December 2010, and which are not subject to the Loan charge following recommendations made by the Independent Loan Charge Review. These compliance checks will include both open enquiries and assessments. An individual may have more than one compliance check depending on their scheme usage and whether it spans more than one tax year. Taxpayers who wish to settle, whether or not the loan charge applies, can do so under the DR settlement terms 2020 which are published on GOV.UK. Taxpayers who do not wish to settle the tax due in respect of their DR scheme use under the published terms have the option of taking their cases before the tribunals and courts.

Stamp Duty Land Tax

Thangam Debbonaire: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, pursuant to the Answer of 20 February 2022 to Question 142738 on Stamp Duty Land Tax, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of applying the discount up front on the number of properties homebuyers will have to choose from.

Victoria Atkins: Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) is a transaction tax and becomes payable at the time a property is purchased. The tax has to be able to apply in a range of different situations. The Government has no plans at present to change the SDLT higher rates exceptional circumstances provisions, but it keeps all tax policy under review.

Leisure and Swimming Pools: Energy

Kim Leadbeater: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will publish (a) the percentile figure for (i) energy intensity and (ii) trade intensity for swimming pools and leisure centres the Government calculated when forming Energy and Trade Intensive Industries scheme and (b) the energy intensity and trade intensity for all other sectors on that scheme.

James Cartlidge: We have taken a consistent approach to identifying the most energy and trade intensive sectors, with all sectors that meet agreed thresholds for energy and trade intensity eligible for Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) component of the Energy Bills Discount Scheme. These thresholds have been set at sectors falling above the 80th percentile for energy intensity and 60th percentile for trade intensity, plus any sectors eligible for the existing energy compensation and exemption schemes. Further information on the methodology has now been published on gov.uk: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/energy-bills-discount-scheme-factsheet/energy-bills-discount-scheme-energy-and-trade-intense-industries-assessment-methodology. All other eligible businesses will automatically receive a unit discount on their bills of up to £19.61/MW for electricity, and £6.97/MW for gas.

Treasury: Disability

Chris Stephens: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps they have taken in their Department to operate the Disability Confident employer scheme for those seeking a lateral transfer; and how many and what proportion of candidates who declared themselves as having a disability and who applied under that scheme where (a) interviewed and (b) laterally transferred in (i) 2021 and (ii) 2022.

James Cartlidge: HM Treasury is a Disability Confident Leader, the highest of three levels in the Disability Confident Scheme, providing candidates who apply to the department under the scheme with a guaranteed interview if they meet the minimum criteria required for the role. This is available to all candidates, both internal and external, and is supplemented by our commitment to offering reasonable adjustments through the recruitment process. To reach Level 3, Disability Confident Leader, an employer must run through a self-assessment of their disabled employment policies and practices, put this self-assessment up for external validation, produce a plan for encouraging and supporting other employers to become Disability Confident, and undertake to use the Voluntary Reporting framework to publicly report on how they support their disabled staff. Of those candidates who declared themselves as having a disability and who applied under the Disability Confident Scheme:299 (12.6% of those applicants) were interviewed in 2021245 (14.6% of those applicants) were interviewed in 2022 Data regarding how many and the proportion of those candidates who moved laterally is not centrally held in the requested format and could only be provided at a disproportionate cost. This is because the question of “applying on promotion” is only asked for vacancies advertised internally or across government.

Environment Protection: Finance

Virginia Crosbie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to update the UK Government Green Financing Framework, published in June 2021, to allow the proceeds of green gilts to be used for nuclear energy projects.

Andrew Griffith: As set out in the British Energy Security Strategy, nuclear energy is a key part of the UK’s low-carbon energy mix alongside solar, wind and other energy sources. These technologies are important in tackling climate change and diversifying the UK’s supply, contributing to the UK’s energy security and sustainable growth. The UK Government Green Financing Framework was set in June 2021, with its current exclusion of nuclear energy projects. Any changes to the Framework in the future to include nuclear energy would be transparently published by the Government.

Treasury: Disability

Vicky Foxcroft: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has a Ministerial disability champion.

James Cartlidge: I am HM Treasury’s Ministerial Disability Champion.

Taxation: Self-assessment

James Murray: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many and what proportion of paper tax returns submitted before the 31 October deadline had (a) been processed and (b) had any arising demands for payment of tax owed issued by midnight on 31 January in financial year 2021-22.

Victoria Atkins: I refer the Honourable Member to the reply given to him on 9th February 2023, reference 140289.

Help to Save Scheme

Anneliese Dodds: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department holds ethnicity-disaggregated data on the use of the Help to Save scheme.

Andrew Griffith: The latest ethnicity-disaggregated data on the use of the Help to Save scheme was published by HMRC in August 2021 as part of research findings on Help to Save customers. It can be found athttps://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1014306/HMRC_research_report_623_Help_to_Save_customer_experience_research.pdf

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Waste Disposal: Monitoring

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate she has made of when a mandatory digital waste tracking system will be operational in England.

Rebecca Pow: We are working towards an operational digital waste tracking service from 2024 dependent on the development of the IT and the transition needs of businesses. We will be issuing a government response to our consultation on the implementation of mandatory digital waste tracking in the Spring.

Waste Disposal: Monitoring

Mr Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions she has had with the (a) Scottish Government, (b) Welsh Government and (c) Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in Northern Ireland on the development of a central digital waste tracking service.

Rebecca Pow: The service we are developing will be UK wide and the project is a great example of joint working, with representatives from the devolved governments engaged in the development and decision making on a regular basis.